260px, old Urayasu is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

located in

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of the

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who cons ...

, which opened in April 1983, and the headquarters of The Oriental Land Company.

History

Early history

The area around Urayasu was ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedi ...

'' territory within

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

controlled directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. Urayasu served as an important fishing village for the Edo capitol. Until the industrialization of the city it was a major center of production of ''

nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus '' Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi o ...

'', an edible

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ke ...

, ''hamaguri'', and ''asari'' clams. All three are important elements of the traditional Japanese diet.

Modern history

After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

in 1868, the area became part of Chiba Prefecture. Urayasu Village was created on April 1, 1889 under Higashikatsushika District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Urayasu became a town in September 1909. Many of the residents of Urayasu perished during the 1944

Bombing of Tokyo The was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Force during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of 9–10 March 1945, is the single most destructive bomb ...

. Urayasu grew in the 1960s and 1970s with massive landfill projects along the shores of Tokyo Bay,

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

projects, and increasing infrastructure. Urayasu became part of the Keiyō Industrial Zone in this period, which spans from the city across the Tokyo Bay coast of Chiba Prefecture to Futtsu to the south. An area of the Tokyo Bay near the town was reclaimed form the sea in 1960s called Maihama. Fishing was abandoned in Urayasu in 1971 due to the industrialization of the city. Urayasu was elevated to city status on April 1, 1981. Also,

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be ...

opened in April 1983 on 200 acres in Maihama.

Government

Urayasu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

city council of 21 members. Urayasu contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Chiba 5th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

of the lower house of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paral ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Urayasu has increased more than eighteen-fold over the past century, and grew especially rapidly between 1970 and 2010.

Geography

Urayasu is located in the northwestern part of Chiba Prefecture, about 20 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba and within 10 to 20 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. It consists of a low-lying natural levee, a delta and a reclaimed land on the left bank of the mouth of the Edo River. The river runs along the western side of the city and separates it from the Edogawa ward of Tokyo. There are two parts to Urayasu: the original fishing village on natural levee on both banks of the Sakai River, which is a tributary of the Edo River, and the newer reclaimed land portion which occupies about three-quarters of the city area, created since the 1960s. The new landfill area is called "Shin-Urayasu" (New-Urayasu), and has an "American" inspired layout, with a grid-like map of wide streets, large sidewalks, palm trees and parks. The buildings are tall, modern apartments, some having views on Tokyo Bay. Urayasu is one of the most sought after areas in the metropolitan area for young families to live.

Geology

Urayasu was greatly affected by the March

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six m ...

and subsequent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The reclaimed land across most of northern Chiba Prefecture was damaged by

soil liquefaction Soil liquefaction occurs when a cohesionless saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress such as shaking during an earthquake or other sudden change in stress condition, ...

in the earthquake. Urayasu, with major areas of reclaimed land, had as much as 85% of the utility infrastructure, roads, buildings, and houses damaged or affected to some degree by soil liquefaction. The damage cost the city approximately ¥73.4 billion to repair.

Climate

Urayasu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Urayasu is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1435 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.2 °C.

Neighboring municipalities

* Ichikawa

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

* Edogawa

Economy

Urayasu is a regional commercial center and a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for nearby Chiba and Tokyo. The commuting rate to the central Tokyo is 49.0% per the 2015 interim census. The primary local employer in the city is The Oriental Land Company and businesses related to

Education

Universities

* Meikai University *

Juntendo University is a private university in Japan. Its headquarters are on its campus in Bunkyo, Tokyo, for the School of Medicine and in Inzai, Chiba, for the School of Health and Sports Science. The university was established in 1838 for medical and in 1946 ...

* Ryotokuji University

High schools

Public (operated by Chiba Prefectural Board of Education): *

Urayasu High School 260px, old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of the T ...

( 千葉県立浦安高等学校) * Urayasu Minami High School ( 千葉県立浦安南高等学校 Private schools: *

Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu High School Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

( 東京学館浦安高等学校) * Tokai University Urayasu Junior & Senior High School ( 東海大学付属浦安高等学校)

Primary and middle schools

Urayasu has 17 public elementary schools and nine public junior high schools operated by the city government and two private middle schools. Municipal junior high schools: * Akemi ( 明海中学校) * Hinode ( 日の出中学校) * Horie ( 堀江中学校) * Irifune ( 入船中学校) * Miakegawa ( 見明川中学校) * Mihama (美浜中学校) * Takasu (高洲中学校) * Tomioka ( 富岡中学校) * Urayasu ( 浦安中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * Akemi (明海小学校) * Akemi Minami ( 明海南小学校) * Higashi (東小学校) * Higashino (東野小学校) * Hinode (日の出小学校) * Hinode Minami ( 日の出南小学校) * Hokubu (北部小学校) * Irifune (入船小学校) * Maihama (舞浜小学校) * Miakegawa (見明川小学校) * Mihama Kita (美浜北小学校) * Mihama Minami ( 美浜南小学校) * Minami ( 南小学校) * Takasu (高洲小学校) * Takasu Kita (高洲北小学校) * Tomioka ( 富岡小学校) * Urayasu ( 浦安小学校)

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

– Keiyō Line * - - Tokyo Metro logo (full)

Tokyo Metro The is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the Toe ...

- Tokyo Metro Tōzai Line *

Maihama Resort Line - Disney Resort Line * Resort Gateway -

- Bayside -

Tokyo DisneySea is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, just next to Tokyo. It opened on 4 September 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. The Oriental Land Company owns the park, and licenses intellectual pro ...

- Resort Gateway

Highway

* 22px Bayshore Route *

Sister City relations

* – Orlando, Florida, United States, since October 23, 1989

Noted people from Urayasu

* Keita Amemiya, Video game designer * Shinnosuke Abe, professional baseball player * Keiji Tamada, professional soccer player * Momoko Abe, Model and Miss Universe Japan 2017 *

Daisuke Hayakawa is a Japanese professional baseball player. He was the number 5 draft pick for the Orix Buffaloes, Orix BlueWave in . References

* 1975 births Living people Rikkyo University alumni Japanese baseball players Nippon Professional Baseball o ...

, professional baseball player * Ichiko Aoba, folk singer and songwriter

References

External links

Official Website

Urayasu Tourism Website
* {{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan