Shiroi, Chiba
Encyclopedia
is a city
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 located in northern Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As of late March 2011, the city has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 61,073 and a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 1725 persons per km². The total area was 35.41 km².

Geography

Shiroi is located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture, roughly equidistant from central Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and Narita International Airport
Narita International Airport
is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....

.

Neighboring municipalities

  • Kashiwa, Chiba
    Kashiwa, Chiba
    is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 404,820 and a population density of 3520 persons per km²...

  • Funabashi, Chiba
    Funabashi, Chiba
    is a city located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 609,157 and a population density of 7110 persons per km². The total area was 85.64 km². It is the 7th most populous city in Greater Tokyo....

  • Kamagaya, Chiba
    Kamagaya, Chiba
    is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 108,142 and a population density of 5120 persons per km²...

  • Inzai, Chiba
    Inzai, Chiba
    is a city located in the north-west of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of late February 2011, the city has an estimated population of 88,652 and a population density of 716 persons/square kilometer. The total area was 128.80 km².-Geography:...

  • Yachiyo, Chiba
    Yachiyo, Chiba
    is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of August 2011, the town had an estimated population of 193,262 and a population density of 3769 persons per km²...


History

Shiroi Village was created within Inba District
Inba District, Chiba
is a district located in Chiba, Japan.As of 2011, the district has an estimated population of 43,480 and a density of 845 persons per km². The total area is 51.48 km².There are two towns within the district.*Sakae*Shisui-District timeline:...

, Chiba Prefecture on April 1, 1885. From shortly after World War II until the early 1960s Shiroi was the site of a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 Base (SHIROI AFB APO 73). Shiroi was elevated to town status on September 1, 1964. As the Japanese economy grew in the 1970s, many people moved from the country to the cities, and the growth of Tokyo sent many residents out to suburbs in the Kantō
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....

 countryside. Shiroi's real growth began during this period: its rail connection to Chiba
Chiba, Chiba
is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 km east of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government designated city in 1992. Its population as of 2008 is approximately 960,000....

 City was completed in 1979, and it was linked directly to the Tokyo railway network in 1991. Shiroi was elevated to city status on April 1, 2001

Economy

Shiroi is a regional commercial center and a bedroom community for nearby Chiba and Tokyo. During the Meiji era, Shiroi became a fruit-growing area. Local farmers planted kiwi fruit and grapes, but the most famous of Shiroi's fruits turned out to be nashi pear
Nashi Pear
Pyrus pyrifolia is a pear tree species native to China, Japan, and Korea. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Chinese pear, Korean pear, Japanese pear, Taiwan pear, and sand pear.....

s. In the springtime, the pear trees still bloom alongside the sakura
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

.

Railway

  • Hokusō Railway Company - Hokusō Line
    Hokuso Line
    The is a commuter rail line operated by the Hokusō Railway in Japan. It runs between Keisei-Takasago Station in Katsushika, Tokyo and Inba-Nihon-Idai Station in Inzai, Chiba....

    • -

External links

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