Chiba

Chiba Prefecture is the "logistics prefecture." Chiba has Narita International Airport. Opened 1978. Japan's international gateway. For Chiba residents, "airport" is daily life. Airplanes fly overhead. Noise is normal. Chiba's main industries are logistics and heavy industry. The Keiyo Industrial Zone spreads along Chiba's west coast. Steel, petrochemicals, shipbuilding. Many Chiba residents have jobs "transporting things." Around Narita Airport, logistics company warehouses are concentrated. For Chiba residents, "cars" are tools for transporting "cargo." Not hobby tools. Chiba's population is about 6.28 million (2020). Japan's 6th largest population. But Chiba has almost no circuits. There's Sodegaura Forest Raceway (2.4km length), but small-scale. If Chiba residents want to do motorsport, they need to go to Tsukuba Circuit (Ibaraki, about 50km) or Fuji Speedway (Shizuoka, about 150km). Meaning for Chiba residents, motorsport is an "out-of-prefecture activity." Chiba is adjacent to Tokyo. Within commuting range. Many Chiba residents work in Tokyo. Chiba is a "bedroom town." Morning to Tokyo, evening to Chiba. For Chiba residents, cars are "commuting tools." No time to go to distant circuits on weekends. Tired. Chiba residents live in the prefecture with Japan's busiest airport, yet are furthest from the "culture of enjoying speed" called motorsport.