After enjoying the full-blown sakura (cherry) trees on the Toei-Arakawa line, I headed to Chiba City for my next cherry viewing.
To start, let me quickly review Chiba City. Chiba is located 40 kilometers east of Tokyo, and a main city of Chiba Prefecture. It's famous for heavy industries, a large port and agriculture. The population is nearly one million. There are several cherry viewing spots in the city, but I chose Aobanomori Park this time, since it's easily accessible from the city center. The special feature of this park is its cherry variations. Not only standard cherries, namely Someiyoshino, but also the precious species such as Yaezakura (double cherry) and Oshimazakura (Oshima cherry) are seen. I fully enjoyed strolling on the full-blown cherry promenade in the bright spring sunshine.
To visit Aobanomori Park, the nearest railway station is Chibadera on the Keisei-Chihara line. The Chihara line is a commuter route connecting the city center (Chiba-chuo) and bedroom community (Chiharadai) of Chiba City. There are 6 stations over a total operating length of 10.9 kilometers. The track is single and electrified. All trains are directly operated onto the Keisei Chiba line toward Tokyo Metropolis. The Chihara line was opened in 1995 by a third sector (a joint venture company of local government and private capitals) named Chiba Express Railway. It was taken over by Keisei Electric Railway in as few as three years, since the number of passengers was small. Railway business is not easy even in major cities.
