Experience the best of Chiba

Chiba is the capital of Chiba Prefecture, on the east side of Tokyo Bay, a large port and industrial city that is also home to many Tokyo commuters. The Chiba Urban Monorail hangs below its track above the streets, a suspended line that is a sight in itself. Chiba Port Tower, a glass-sided lookout on the waterfront, gives views across the bay, and the Inage seaside park has a long artificial beach and a promenade facing the water.

Makuhari, a waterfront district on the bay, holds a large convention centre and a baseball stadium. Narita, with the great Naritasan Shinshoji temple, lies to the north-east, and the Boso Peninsula, with beaches and fishing ports, stretches to the south. On the peninsula's bay shore, Mount Nokogiri has a huge Buddha carved into a quarried cliff, the largest stone figure of its kind in Japan.

Peanuts are the prefecture's famous crop, and soy sauce has been brewed at Noda and Choshi for centuries. Fishing ports on the Boso coast supply horse mackerel, eaten raw as namero, minced with miso and ginger, and loquats from the southern peninsula appear in early summer. Cherry blossom comes in early April, and the Pacific side stays mild in winter with little snow.