Chiba, Coastal industrial metropolis in Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Chiba sits on Tokyo Bay and consists of residential neighborhoods that extend inland, while factories and port facilities line the coast. The city combines green spaces with densely built areas where monorail lines run above wide streets.
In the 12th century, the Chiba clan established a castle town that became the foundation of the current settlement. After the Meiji Restoration, the area developed into an industrial center with port facilities and shipyards.
The Kasori Shell Midden allows visitors to see traces of Jomon settlements that lived here thousands of years ago. Several temples and shrines are distributed across the residential areas, where locals gather during New Year celebrations and cherry blossom season.
From the main railway station, Tokyo can be reached in about 40 minutes by regional trains that run regularly. Monorail stations in the city center offer easy connections to residential areas and leisure facilities without steep gradients.
The shell midden contains over 40 million shells dating from the Jomon period and forms the largest prehistoric site of this type in the country. An on-site museum displays tools and pottery found within the layers.
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