Shiroi, Chiba

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Shiroi (白井市 Shiroi-shi) is a city located in Chiba, Japan.

As of late May 2006, the city has an estimated population of 54,211. The total area is 35.41 km².

The city is roughly equidistant from central Tokyo and Narita International Airport. Its main commuter link to the city is the Hokuso Rapid Railway, by which one can get from Shiroi to Tokyo Station in about 50 minutes. The Railway is currently under construction to link Shiroi with Tokyo and Narita Airport by the year 2010 under a Chiba Prefectural Government scheme.

During the Meiji era, Shiroi became a fruit-growing area. Local farmers planted kiwis and grapes, but the most famous of Shiroi's fruits turned out to be nashi pears. In the springtime, the pear trees still bloom alongside the sakura (cherry blossoms).

As the Japanese economy grew in the 1970s, many people moved from the country to the cities, and the growth of Tokyo sent many residents out to suburbs that were popping up in the Kanto countryside. Shiroi's real growth began during this period: its rail connection to Chiba City was completed in 1979, and it was linked directly to the Tokyo railway network in 1991. From shortly after WWII until the early 1960s Shiroi was the site of a US Air Force Base (SHIROI AFB APO 73). Shiroi as a town was established in 1964 and as a city on April 1, 2001.