Chiba Update
Chiba Convention Bureau and International Center (CCB-IC)

Welcome to the Winter Edition of
Chiba Update!

CONTENTS
P1

Our best wishes for a prosperous
and successful 2022.
This year, we have welcomed theyear with less restrain as the
local travel restrictions were put
to ease even before the holiday
season. As we are allowed togather in groups or travel, people
are continued to be vigilant in
observing the safety protocols,
while hotels, restaurants andother establishments follow theirown safety measures to ensure
safety as the situation progresses.
Winter in Japan can be tough forsome places where snow poursheavily especially in mountainous
areas. Chiba on the other handexperience a mild winter withlimited snow fall. The crisp
weather of winter brings a clearblue sky and provides a good-clear
view of Mt. Fuji. In Chiba around
mid-February you can observe a
phenomenon called ‘Diamond
Fuji’ a very unusual event wherethe rays of the rising or settling
sun align with the peak of this
iconic mountain, causing thesummit spark like a diamond.
Once again, it is our pleasure tobring you the latest happenings inChiba. Through this edition, wehope you will learn more about us
and will look forward to more
upcoming issues.

Winter 2022●
●Greetings
Convenient Conventions 101
Introduction to ‘unique’ venues of Chiba
P2 Latest News● CCB-IC to participate in IME 2022 Online● The CCB-IC and Japan Airlines’ Hospitality Seminar was held
as Chiba MICE development initiative● Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC)
Online Seminar for High School Students
P3 What’s Up●Makuhari Illumination
Aspiration towards the future●Explore Kisarazu City through Guidoor● Porsche Experience Center Tokyo
The new meeting place for your event
Special Feature● Makuhari Farm ‘Vechika’
The world’s first fully-automated vegetablefactory in Chiba
P4 Upcoming Events●FOODEX JAPAN 2022

Convenient Conventions 101

Introduction to ‘unique’ venues of Chiba
Chiba offers various exclusive venues for business gatherings such as
seminars and receptions.
1. Chiba Urban Monorail
The longest suspension monorail in the world according to the Guinness
Book of World Records.
2. Narita Museum of Calligraphy
Opened in 1992 as the integrated museum dedicated to the art ofcalligraphy. It is located in the beautiful Naritasan park in the precinct ofNaritasan Temple.
3. Mihama-en Japanese Garden
Located in the 1.6-hectare park in the heart of Makuhari. A Japanesegarden with a large pond, and a teahouse for authentic Japan experience.
4. Chiba City Museum of Art Saya-do Hall
The hall has a neo-Renaissance style with eight massive columns. Availablefor party banquets. You can also enjoy viewing ukiyo-e and other artworks.
5. Boso-no-Mura
An outdoor history museum offering interactive experiences.
For more information on Chiba-exclusive venues,Please visit the CCB homepage.

1CCB-IC to participate in IME 2022 Online

LATEST NEWSChiba Convention Bureau will participate in the largest MICE businessconvention in Japan, the IME 2022 Online to be held on February 16 to 17,2022.
Please visit the IME 2022 Online for more information and updates.

The CCB-IC and Japan Airlines’
Hospitality Seminar was held as Chiba MICE development initiatives
The Chiba Convention Bureau (CCB) in cooperation with the Japan Airlines helda hospitality seminar in the four ‘International Meeting Tourism City’ of theprefecture namely Chiba City, Narita City, Kisarazu City, and Urayasu City. Theseminar is as part of the JAL Group’s Regional Revitalization, the JAL FURUSATO
PROJECT. The seminar was held respectively from October to November, 2021,
and was attended by about 200 representatives from various MICE-related
businesses and organizations from the prefecture. During the seminar, CCB has
invited 3 cabin crews from the FURUSATO PROJECT who facilitated the lectureand share some basic knowledge and personal experiences on hospitality that
include customer service etiquette, responding to the needs of people fromdifferent culture, in-flight duties, Covid19 measures, and more. This aimed tofurther develop and promote MICE industry in the prefecture.
The seminar was done in 4 different venues in the prefecture, at Keisei Hotel
Miramare in Chiba City, at Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay in Urayasu City, at Porsche
Experience Center Tokyo in Kisarazu City, and at Naritasan Museum ofCalligraphy in Narita City. Among the seminar's highlights are the MICE facilitysite inspection tour and the calligraphy live performance. Through the seminar,
participants have once again been reminded of the true service that is rooted inthe heart, and that, despite wearing a mask during pandemic times, a true smileknows no boundaries. The seminar showcased various customer service content
that is useful in daily practice at work place.
The JAL's regional revitalization efforts, JAL Furusato Project was established torespond to diversifying local needs and to support the revitalization of local
communities and local economies. At present, there are about 20 flightattendants involved in the project in every 47 prefectures, for a total of about
1,000 nationwide.

Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC)

Online Seminar for High School Students
The Chiba Convention Bureau in collaboration with the Planetary Exploration Research Center of Chiba Institute ofTechnology, has organized a seminar intended for high school students and other interested participants on planetaryexploration. The event was held on December 28, 2021, and was attended by more than one hundred including students
from different High Schools in the Prefecture.
The seminar was facilitated by Principal Staff Scientist, Dr. Koji Wada with topics focused on the study of theoreticalplanetology including planetary exploration such as Hayabusa2 mission. The seminar served not solely as an opportunity
for the participating students to explore the solar system but also served as a chance for the organizers to promote theupcoming Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2022 to be held hybrid from May 22-27, 2022 at Makuhari Messe.
The Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC) of Chiba Institute of Technology was selected as a collaborative centerfor university use with Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in2017, and started full-scale activities in 2018. PERC aims to contribute to the future exploration of the solar system byestablishing itself as a development center for astronomical imaging cameras and dust observation equipment through2the activities.

WHAT’S UP

Makuhari Illumination

Aspirations towards the future
The Chiba’s main convention area, Makuhari holds Winter Illuminationeach year, where colorful LED lights are lit in places during the season. The
iridescent light hopes to provide aspirations towards the future.
This year, in addition to the performance during the lighting ceremony, wasa special live performance held on 8th of January, presented by the DanceClub of Chiba Prefectural Makuhari Sohgoh High School. The group islooking at the possibility of performing as well at various business events inChiba in the future.

Kisarazu City on the mobile city guide

Explore Kisarazu City through Guidoor
In order to reach as many international visitors, Kisarazu City employs a multilingual tourist information site, ‘Guidoor’. The site allows an introduction of thecity’s major tourist destinations in 8 different languages, Japanese, English,Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, Indonesian, and Thai. The application isaccessible via the internet or via the QR code found at major tourist destinationsin the city.
Through this, Kisarazu City hopes to provide up-to-date information for inboundtourist’s convenience.

Porsche Experience Center Tokyo

The new meeting place for your event
The ninth of its kind in the world and first in Japan, the Porsche Experience
Center Tokyo opened in Kisarazu City in Chiba on October 1, 2021. The facility
showcased a driving course, a restaurant, an exhibition space, souvenir shop,
and a spacious lounge area and meeting rooms available for businessgatherings.
Porsche Experience Center Tokyo aims to maximize the true performance andinstincts of a Porsche driver through driving techniques and theories taught byspecialist trainers. In addition to the 2.1 km driving tract is a simulator lab
where one can get a visual thrill of driving at some of the world’s iconic race
tracks via a simulator.
Located in the beautiful scenery of Kisarazu City, approximately 60 minutes
from Tokyo and Narita Airport, and about 45 minutes from Haneda Airport, thisJapanese craft of Edo-kiriko inspired architecture also offers a fine dining
experience at its in-house 906 Restaurant that serves selection of specialties,
coffee, pastries, refreshments, as well as in-house catering from small groups
to exclusive parties providing a variety of options from plated dinners to buffets
and boxed lunches. Enjoy lunch and dinner made from the freshest local
ingredients of Kisarazu, overlooking the spectacular view of the racing track.
Furthermore, the facility offers variety of spaces for business events of all sizes,
whether it's a special occasion or a team-building for private and corporate
events. It has twelve different meeting rooms outfitted with state-of-the-art
audio-visual equipment for a seamless meeting experience. This state-of-theart facility could be a great treat for customers, not only those who have apassion for cars, but clients in general.
For more details, please visit Chiba Update Winter 202. PDF version alsoavailable.
3

SPECIAL FEATURE

Narashino Farm ‘Vechica’

The world’s first fully-automated vegetablefactory in Chiba
For many years now, technology has revolutionized our world and our daily lives. It improved the quality of life, making
it more convenient, faster, and more fun. One product of modern technology is the world’s first fully automatedvegetable factory in a basement in Narashino City in Chiba.
Have you ever thought of where the food on your plate came from, who produced them, and how? Will you be
surprised if I say that underneath a public road in a basement 10 meters underground is a huge production of leafy
greens such as lettuce and other vegetables?
The Narashino Farm ‘Vechika’ literally translated as ‘basement grown vegetables’ is a Chiba Prefectural project incollaboration with Itoh Denki, in which a vacant space underground is used as a vegetation farm.
The Vechica is located in a 3.1 kilometers long utility tunnel with the length of 6 meters long and 4 meters high. Thefactory was first operated in 2015, and is producing lettuce and other leafy greens to supply nearby groceries and foodestablishments. Aside from the utilization of a vacant space, some of the major considerations in the selection of theuse of the underground tunnel is the constant temperature suitable for cultivation, which allows 25-40% lesselectricity consumption, as well as save building construction cost. It is located in a commercial district which resolves
logistic, and packaging cost issues. Furthermore, since it is indoor and not affected by sudden weather changes, allows
stable production volume all-year-round.
The factory is a fully-automated factory that aims to produce quality products that will meet consumer’s demand. The
factory also hopes to provide custom-made vegetables, a centralized management system for integrated services frompackaging to logistic, and develop cultivation technology which will expand overseas, especially those areas unsuitablefor vegetation.
For more details, please visit Chiba Update Winter 2022. PDF version also available.

The 47th International Food and Beverage Exhibition

UPCOMING EVENTSFOODEX JAPAN 2022
The leading Food & Beverage trade show in Asia. This year to be held from March 8 to 11, 2022 at Makuhari Messe,
FOODEX JAPAN provides business expansion opportunities and solutions for food & beverages. For more details, pleasevisit FOODEX JAPAN 2022.

For more CCB event schedule, please visit here.

Chiba Convention Bureau and International Center
14F Marive East, World Business Garden
2-6 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City Chiba Prefecture, 261-7114 Japan
Tel: +81-43-297-2752 Fax: +81-43-297-2753
Homepage: http://www.ccb.or.jp/mice/e/ Email: request@ccb.or.jp

4