Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.

Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture. Historically, the prefecture constituted three provinces of Awa, Kazusa, and Shimousa.

Chiba borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north at the Tone River, Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture to the west at the Edo River, the Pacific Ocean to the east and Tokyo Bay around its southern boundary. Most of Chiba lies on the hilly Boso Peninsula, a rice farming region: the east coast, known as the Ninety-Nine League Plain, is an especially productive area. The most populous zone, in the northwest of the prefecture, is part of the Kantō region that extends into the urban agglomeration of Tokyo and Saitama. The Kuroshio Current flows near Chiba, which keep it relatively warm in winter and cooler in summer than neighboring Tokyo.

Tokyo Disneyland Resort is located in Urayasu, at the western fringe of the prefecture, close to Tokyo. It's a good opportunity to see a totally Japanese take on the world's most famous mouse. Tokyo Disney is actually owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. This makes the resort, along with the relatively new and completely unique DisneySea, the only Disney parks not owned by the Walt Disney Company.

Another place of interest is the city of Narita. Home to the eponymous airport, Narita offers a few very Japanese sights – such as the Naritasan Shinshō-ji Temple (成田山新勝寺) – that make the trip worthwhile, especially if you're on an extended layover at the airport and don't want to spend the time getting to Tokyo.

External links

• [Wikitravel Site http://wikitravel.org/en/Narita]