Chiba (千葉市, Chiba-shi^?) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast 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.

Chiba City is also one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, and is home to Chiba Port, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in the nation. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses located along the coast. There are several major urban centers in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located.

Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended monorail in the world, as published in the Guinness Book of World Records. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shellmound, the largest shellmound in the world at 134,000m², Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in the nation which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and the Chiba City Zoological Park, which gained popularity because of the red panda Futa, who stands with human-like posture.

Shinichi Chiba (千葉 真一, Chiba Shin'ichi^?) (born 23 January 1939), also known as Sonny Chiba, is a Japanese actor, singer, film producer, film director and martial artist.

Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.

Born Sadaho Maeda (前田 禎穂, Maeda Sadaho^?) in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, he was the third of five children in the family of a military test pilot. At Chiba's age 4, because his father had transferred to Kisarazu, Chiba, his family moved to Kimitsu, Chiba.

After Chiba went on to the junior high school of Kimitsu, the teacher of physical education advised him to do artistic gymnastics. He also was passionate about track and field sports, baseball and volleyball. He participated in those four sports championships of Chiba Prefecture. Chiba went on to the high school of Kisarazu, where he dedicated to artistic gymnastics and won the National Sports Festival of Japan while in the third grade. He enjoyed watching Western movies like Shane and High Noon.

The Chiba Urban Monorail (千葉都市モノレール, Chiba Toshi Monorēru^?) is a two-line suspended monorail system located in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by Chiba Urban Monorail Co., Ltd (千葉都市モノレール株式会社, Chiba toshi monorēru kabushikigaisha^?), a so-called "third-sector" company established on March 20, 1979. Investors include Chiba Prefecture and the city of Chiba.

The first segment (Line 2 from Sports Center Station to Chishirodai Station) began service on March 28, 1988, with the remainder of the system following 11 years later on March 24, 1999. Customers can use the PASMO contactless smart card to purchase fares.

The Chiba Urban Monorail holds the world record for the longest suspended monorail system at 15.2 km in total track length. The Chongqing Monorail holds the record for all monorail systems.

Line 1 connects Chiba Minato Station and Kencho-mae Station with a 3.2 km multiple-track route. Operating at 1500 VDC, trains make four intermediate stops between the terminals.