Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, Kantō Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Narashino (習志野市, Narashino-shi) is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 November 2020, the city had an estimated population density of 8,400 persons per km². The total area of the city is 20.97 square km (8.10 sq mi)

Geography Narashino is located in far north-western Chiba Prefecture, bordered by Tokyo Bay to the south-west, and the prefectural capital of Chiba to the east. It is approximately 20 to 30 km from central Tokyo.

The city is located on the Shimōsa Plateau and reclaimed land fill on Tokyo Bay, with a large difference in elevation from the inland area to the coastal area.

Surrounding municipalities Chiba Prefecture • Chiba • Funabashi • Yachiyo.

Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Narashino increased rapidly between 1950 and 1990 and has grown at a slower pace since.

History The area around Narashino has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeologists have found shell middens and numerous other remains from Jōmon period, as well as burial tumuli from the Kofun period. However, for most of its history, the area was a sparsely populated wetland and swamp along the northern shore of Edo Bay.

After the Meiji Restoration, Tsudanuma (津田沼村, Tsudanuma-mura) was founded within Chiba District on April 1, 1889 on the merger of five small hamlets with a total population of 4500 people. The area only began to develop with the coming of the railway, and Tsudanuma was raised to town status on March 3, 1903, with a population of 6000.

The Narashino area of Tsudanuma was used for cavalry maneuvers by the Imperial Guard and the early Imperial Japanese Army, and was visited by the Meiji Emperor early in the Meiji period (1868 – 1912). A prisoner of war camp was built in 1904 to house POWs from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and World War I. The Imperial Japanese Army Narashino School was the main training school for cavalry, and later for tank warfare.

On August 1, 1954, Tsudanuma merged with a portion of the neighboring city of Chiba (the former town of Makuhari) to form the new city of Narashino.

Neighborhoods • Akanehama • Akitsu • Fujisaki • Hanasaki • Higashi-Narashino • Izumicho • Kanadenomori • Kasumi • Mimomi • Moto-Okubo • Okubo • Saginuma • Saginumadai • Shibazono • Shin-ei • Sodegaura • Tsudanuma • Yashiki • Yatsu • Yatsumachi.

Government Narashino has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 30 members. Narashino contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy Narashino is a regional commercial centre and a bedroom community for nearby Chiba and Tokyo, with 32,7% of the residents commuting to Tokyo per the 2010 census, and 11.7% to Funabashi and 10.5% to Chiba. The coastal area, mostly on reclaimed land is part of the Keiyō Industrial Zone and is home to much heavy industry, especially related to chemical processing.

Transport: Rail JR East – Sōbu Main Line; ■ Tsudanuma; JR East – Keiyō Line; ■Shin-Narashino; Keisei Electric Railway - Main Line; ■Yatsu - Keisei Tsudanuma - Keisei Ōkubo - Mimomi; Keisei Electric Railway - Chiba Line; ■ Keisei Tsudanuma; Shin-Keisei Electric Railway - Shin-Keisei Line; ■ Keisei Tsudanuma - Shin-Tsudanuma.

Transport: Road • Keiyō Road • Higashi-Kantō Expressway • National Route 126 • National Route 357.

Education • Chiba Institute of Technology • Narashino has 16 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education.

Local attractions • Akitsu Baseball Stadium • Chiba International General Swimming Center • Frontier Soccer Field (naming rights from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2018), formerly known as Akitsu Soccer Stadium. • Ōnomatsu stable.

Notable places • Yatsu-higata (谷津干潟), a Ramsar Site and protected wetlands for migratory birds. The spring and summer months see an increase of jellyfish and small crabs to the wetlands. • Yatsu Rose Garden (谷津バラ園), a rose garden which displays over 6,000 individual blossoms in May and October. The garden was founded with Yatsu Yūen (谷津遊園), an amusement park which was managed by Keisei Electric Railway and closed in 1982. When the park was closed, the city bought the garden, and has managed it since that time.