Chiba千葉県
Chiba-ken, ちばけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Chiba is the Bōsō peninsula east of Tokyo Bay. Narita Airport and Tokyo Disney Resort are both here, not in Tokyo.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 千葉県
- Reading
- Chiba-ken / ちばけん
- Region
- Kantō 関東
- Capital
- Chiba 千葉市
- Population
- 6,284,480 (2020 census)
- Area
- 5,158 km²
- Density
- 1,218 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 54: 37 cities, 16 towns, and 1 village
- Designated cities
- Chiba City
- Districts (郡)
- 6
- Codes
- JIS 12, ISO 3166-2 JP-12
- Website
- www.pref.chiba.lg.jp
- Tree
- podocarp マキ
- Flower
- rapeseed blossom 菜の花
- Bird
- meadow bunting ホオジロ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiba City千葉市 | 974,951 | 271.78 | 15.5% |
| Funabashi City船橋市 | 642,907 | 85.62 | 10.2% |
| Matsudo City松戸市 | 498,232 | 61.38 | 7.9% |
| Ichikawa City市川市 | 496,676 | 57.45 | 7.9% |
| Kashiwa City柏市 | 426,468 | 114.74 | 6.8% |
| Ichihara City市原市 | 269,524 | 368.17 | 4.3% |
| Nagareyama City流山市 | 199,849 | 35.32 | 3.2% |
| Yachiyo City八千代市 | 199,498 | 51.39 | 3.2% |
| Narashino City習志野市 | 176,197 | 20.97 | 2.8% |
| Urayasu City浦安市 | 171,362 | 17.3 | 2.7% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 44 are listed below.
How an address here begins
千葉県千葉市…
Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name, then the name of one of Chiba's 6 wards. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Chiba市区町村
54 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Designated city政令指定都市
A designated city is divided into wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments.
Other cities市
- Choshi City銚子市
- Ichikawa City市川市
- Funabashi City船橋市
- Tateyama City館山市
- Kisarazu City木更津市
- Matsudo City松戸市
- Noda City野田市
- Mobara City茂原市
- Narita City成田市
- Sakura City佐倉市
- Togane City東金市
- Asahi City旭市
- Narashino City習志野市
- Kashiwa City柏市
- Katsura City勝浦市
- Ichihara City市原市
- Nagareyama City流山市
- Yachiyo City八千代市
- Abiko City我孫子市
- Kamogawa City鴨川市
- Kamagaya City鎌ケ谷市
- Kimitsu City君津市
- Futtsu City富津市
- Urayasu City浦安市
- Yotsukaido City四街道市
- Sodegaura City袖ケ浦市
- Yachimata City八街市
- Inzai City印西市
- Shiroi City白井市
- Tomisato City富里市
- Minamiboso City南房総市
- Sosa City匝瑳市
- Katori City香取市
- Sammu City山武市
- Isumi Cityいすみ市
- Oamishirasato City大網白里市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Chiba
- Is Chiba a city or a prefecture?
- Chiba (千葉県) is a prefecture, one of Japan's 47. Chiba City (千葉市) is a municipality inside it and its capital. On its own, the name usually means the city. With 県 on the end it means the prefecture.
- What is the capital of Chiba?
- Chiba City (千葉市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture. It is a designated city, divided into wards.
- What does 県 mean in 千葉県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Chiba?
- 54: 37 cities, 16 towns, and 1 village. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. One of them is a designated city, divided into wards: Chiba City (6 wards). The wards are offices of the city, not governments. The towns and villages are grouped into six districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Chiba?
- 6,284,480 at the 2020 census, on 5,158 km², which is 1,218 people per km². Chiba is the 6th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 28th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Chiba?
- Three prefectures: Ibaraki (茨城県), Saitama (埼玉県), and Tokyo (東京都). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Chiba in?
- Kantō (関東). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Chiba elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Chiba written in Japanese?
- 千葉県, read Chiba-ken and written ちばけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Chiba begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 千葉県千葉市… (Chiba-ken, Chiba-shi, …). In Chiba the ward name is written after the city name, since it is a designated city. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Chiba?
- Chiba City (千葉市), with 974,951 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Chiba City (千葉市, 974,951), Funabashi City (船橋市, 642,907), and Matsudo City (松戸市, 498,232).
- What are the symbols of Chiba?
- The prefectural tree is the podocarp (マキ), the flower the rapeseed blossom (菜の花), and the bird the meadow bunting (ホオジロ). Chiba chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.