Chiba-ken (Chiba prefecture): chi-ba
The current word "Chiba" is written "thousand" and "leaves." Before that, it was "Chi-gaya grasses" and "grow," meaning that the land is dense with Cogon grasses called Chi-gaya grasses in Japanese.
The prefecture is located in the southeast flatland of Kanto Region, with its three sides surrounded by ocean or bay. Most of the land is the Boso Peninsula. The north, which is part of the Kanto Plain, is composed of the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay, the low land areas along a large river such as the Tonegawa River and Edogawa River, and Shimosa tableland. The south is hill areas, such as Boso kyuryo (hilly terrain), and the highest peak is 408m (Mt. Atago), which is the lowest among the highest mountains in each of the other prefectures. Mt. Nokogiri (329m) and Mt. Kanoyama (379m) are popular tourist spots.
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There had been three ancient provinces called "Boso's three provinces" since the Ritsuryo system (law system) established them in the 7th century. They are Kazusa, Awa and Shimosa Provinces. Chiba prefecture is composed of the whole area of the Kazusa/Awa and part of the Shimosa Province. The rest of Shimosa Province was divided and included in Tokyo, Ibaraki and Saitama prefectures.
In 1873 (Japanese year Meiji 6), a former Inba prefecture on the northwest and a former Kisarazu prefecture on the south were included in Chiba prefecture. The south area of the Tonegawa River, which belonged to the former Niihari prefecture, was included in Chiba in 1875 (Meiji 8) as well. The north area of the Tonegawa River in the former Inba prefecture was included in Ibaraki prefecture and the west area of the Edgawa River was included in Saitama prefecture. The north area of Tonegawa River in Katori county and the west area of the Yoko-Tonegawa River were included in Ibaraki prefecture in 1899 (Meiji 32).
Ibaraki's population, population density and daytime population rank sixth among the prefectures in Japan. Its land area ranks 28th, which is the largest among the prefectures in southern Kanto area (Tokyo Metropolis, Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa)
The prefecture has many flatlands and extensive inhabitable land, which have developed into residential areas as part of the metropolitan area next to Tokyo Metropolis. Although the northwest is dense in population, the east and the south central have been losing some populations, and some cities and towns have been recognized as the underpopulated area subject to the law "Special Measures for Promotion for Independence for Underpopulated Areas." Extensive reclaimed lands lie from Urayasu city to Futtsu city on the Tokyo Bay coast, and there stand petrochemical complexes in Ichihara city as a center of the Keiyo Industrial Zone and stand steel mills in Chiba and Kimitsu cities. Meanwhile, agriculture and fishery are active by taking advantage of the terrain. The agriculture and fishery ranked fourth and fifth in production amount in 2013, respectively. The prefectural GDP is as high as 19.7 trillion yen, which is more than the GDP of majority of the world nations.
Chiba prefecture is easily accessible for tourists to travel from the central Tokyo, Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) via the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line (Trans-Tokyo Bay Highway). The prefecture has vast beaches since its three sides are surrounded by ocean and bay, and many forests remain.
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On the northwest, Tokyo Disney Resort, shopping malls and museums are crowded with many tourists. Historic sites, such as Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple and Katori Jingu shrine, are crowded with many foreign tourists who use Narita Airport. Most coastal areas have swimming beaches and clamming sites. Besides, local lines, such as Isumi Railway line and Choshi Electric Railway line, have been used for tourism.
Many kinds of Donburi dishes have developed in the Boso Peninsula, for instance, "Kaihodon" in Futtsu city and "Oragadon" in Kamogawa city. (A Donburi dish is a Japanese steamed rice bowl dish topped with something) They are locally known, but getting popular as local delicacies with tourists from outside the cities.
The fishery and agriculture have produced the processed fruits of pears, loquats (Boshu Biwa), etc. and processed foods, such as Kujiranotare (dried whale meat), Rakkasei (peanuts) and Tai-Senbei (Tai: sea bream, Senbei: rice cracker; fish-shaped rice cracker actually without fish meat), as food souvenirs. Nure-Senbei (wet-look soft rice cracker) has sold as a food souvenir for tourists by Choshi Electric Railway.
