Narashino (習志野市,Narashino-shi) is acity located inChiba Prefecture,Japan.[1][2]As of 30 November 2020[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 175,292 in 81,985 households and apopulation density of 8400 persons per km2.[3] The total area of the city is 20.97 square kilometres (8.10 sq mi)
Narashino is located in far northwestern Chiba Prefecture, bordered byTokyo Bay to the southwest,[4] and the prefectural capital ofChiba to the east. It is approximately 20 to 30 kilometers from central Tokyo.
The city is located on theShimōsa Plateau and reclaimed land fill on Tokyo Bay, with a large difference in elevation from the inland area to the coastal area.[2]
Narashino has ahumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Narashino is 15.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1410 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.9 °C.[5]
The area around Narashino has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeologists have foundshell middens and numerous other remains fromJōmon period, as well asburial tumuli from theKofun period. However, for most of its history, the area was a sparsely populated wetland and swamp along the northern shore ofEdo Bay.
After theMeiji Restoration,Tsudanuma (津田沼村,Tsudanuma-mura) was founded withinChiba 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.
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.[7]
Narashino has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 30 members. Narashino contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part ofChiba 2nd district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
Narashino is a regional commercial center and abedroom 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 onreclaimed land is part of theKeiyō Industrial Zone and is home to much heavy industry, especially related to chemical processing.
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.
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), anamusement 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.
^ab"習志野" [Narashino].Dijitaru Daijisen (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012.OCLC56431036. Archived fromthe original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved2012-07-26.
^ab"習志野" [Narashino].Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012.OCLC56431036. Archived fromthe original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved2012-07-12.