When tourists mention “Chiba”, they many times refer to Chiba city (Chiba-shi in Japanese). But be aware that there also is a Chiba prefecture and it’s quite big. You might however already have guessed that Chiba city is located in Chiba Prefecture (Chiba-ken in Japanese). So if you are heading this way don’t forget to ask for Chiba-shi and you will be fine.
Chiba city is the located is eastern Japan, about an hour from Tokyo with train. Doing a day-trip from Tokyo is therefore no problem at all. The city itself is quite nice if you want to take a breather from busy Tokyo. It offers everything you’ll need with the added bonus of more personal space than Tokyo. From a tourist’s viewpoint however a day or two is probably enough in Chiba-shi. The city offers a lot for people with a purpose, e.g. visiting an event at Makuhari Messe, attending University or so. But for sightseeing a day or two is probably enough.
Things to do in Chiba city – Top 3
So what can you actually do in Chiba city? Here is our top 3 list of things to do in Chiba city.
Take a peaceful walk
Chiba city is great for simply walking around and release some stress. The city has great coffee shops and plenty restaurants. So you won’t go hungry. Of course, the city also offers shopping, arcades, bars etc. So if you visit Chiba you could simply take a stroll around Chiba station area and discover the central city without any particular plan. After that if you want to discover even more start walking away from the city center and you’ll discover cozy cafés here and there.
DisneyLand “Tokyo” and DisneySea Japan
DisneyLand Tokyo and DisneySea actually lies in Chiba prefecture so we’ll mention it here. Well you probably already know of Disney, but you might have missed that DisneyLand and DisneySea are quite close both to Chiba city and Tokyo. From Chiba city it takes about 50-60 minutes with train including 1 transfer.
But which one should you visit? Unfortunately we are not experts on Disney resorts so you’ll have to do some further research if this is appealing to you. However what we can say is that if you are going to visit, if possible, try to visit early on a weekday. The Disney parks are very busy on Japanese weekends and holidays. If you are unlucky, you might have to wait 1-2 hours to go on popular rides. They do however offer all guest “FastPass” for free, it’s included in your ticket.
Disney FastPass is a queuing-system that gives you ticket with a return time. At the return time you will be able to get in a queue that moves fairly fast. When you are waiting for your return time you’ll be able to see other parts of the park instead of physically standing in line. Smart right? 🙂
Take the monorail to the Zoo
Why not see the city above and learn more about animals. You’ll be able to take the monorail from Chiba station and it will take you all the way to Chiba Zoological Park. On the way you will get great views of the city. Get of at Dobutsukoen station.