
Ignored entirely or dismissed as "suburbia" by travel guides, Chiba is generally regarded as the most boring of the cities surrounding Tokyo. But, as William Gibson fans will know, there is one excellent reason for visiting Chiba, as the "Tokyo-Chiba urban sprawl" is where much of Neuromancer (ISBN 0441569595) is set:
As it happens, Gibson's dystopian cyberpunk visions are at times difficult to correlate with the reality of modern-day Chiba, but the area still makes a reasonably interesting day trip from Tokyo if you have time to spare and prefer high technology toys over mouldering temples.
On the western outskirts of the city in Mihama Ward and accessible on the JR Keiyo line (Kaihin-Makuhari Station, 海浜幕張駅), this is a showcase "city of the future", similar to Tokyo's Odaiba but grander and more artificial in scope.
The JR Narita Line links Chiba directly to Narita's international airport. A few N'EX limited expresses stop at Chiba on their way to Tokyo, but usually the ordinary rapid service trains are a better bet.
Train is the obvious means of arrival, as a dense web of routes links Chiba to Tokyo and points in the vicinity.
Airport Limousine buses link Chiba to Haneda and Narita Airports.
The two lines of the suspended Chiba Urban Monorail (千葉都市モノレール) [2], the world's longest suspended monorail and almost (but not quite) an attraction in themselves, connect the port (千葉みなと Chiba Minato) to Chiba station and then branch out to the northwest and northeast.