Where the name Maihama comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
For years, people were told that Maihama was named after Miami Beach in Florida. The explanation even appeared in an earlier official history of Urayasu. But a later investigation of town council records overturned that account. On November 29, 1975, Mayor Yoshio Kumakawa explained that the new district was named after Urayasu no Mai, a ceremonial Shinto dance. The council approved the name on that basis, and Urayasu City now recognizes this as the documented origin.
Leave Maihama Station and walk south. The ground is remarkably level because the district was created through land reclamation rather than developing as an old coastal village. Before the first reclamation project, the area was part of Tokyo Bay, where fishing boats worked the surrounding waters.
Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, followed by Maihama Station in 1988. The place name therefore predates both the railway station and much of the surrounding resort infrastructure. Walk toward the waterfront and imagine the bay that once extended across this entire district. Maihama's name connects a modern entertainment destination not with an American beach, but with a traditional Japanese ceremonial dance.
→ Leave Maihama Station by the south exit and walk toward Tokyo Disney Resort. Notice the flat streets and the surrounding waterways. This was once open water, not an old village. The district's name dates to 1975, before the station opened, and officially recalls a Shinto ceremonial dance rather than Miami Beach.
Sources (in Japanese): 浦安市「地域名の由来・舞浜」, Impress Watch「『舞浜』の由来はマイアミではない・浦安市史を正した経緯」
The land occupied by Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland was once part of Tokyo Bay. Before reclamation began in 1964, Urayasu was a fishing community whose residents harvested fish, shellfish, and seaweed from the shallow coastal waters. But industrial and household wastewater increasingly polluted the bay. In 1958, a major dispute over wastewater discharged by the Honshu Paper Company's Edogawa factory highlighted the growing environmental crisis.
Facing declining catches and worsening water quality, local fishing communities surrendered part of their fishing rights in 1962 and all remaining rights in 1971. Reclamation began in 1964, and the first phase was completed in November 1975. The project created extensive new land for housing, commercial uses, and a large leisure destination. What had once been fishing grounds became a carefully planned urban landscape.
Tokyo Disneyland opened in April 1983. In December 1988, the Keiyo railway line opened through the district, bringing Maihama Station into service. Walk south from the station and follow the roads around the resort. The straight streets, level ground, and engineered waterfront reveal how dramatically the landscape has changed. Maihama tells a story not only of tourism, but of the replacement of an old fishing economy with a new city built on reclaimed sea.
→ Walk from Maihama Station around the resort district toward Tokyo Bay. The railway, theme parks, and surrounding roads all stand on reclaimed land. Look at the straight roads and engineered seawalls, and imagine the shallow fishing waters that occupied this area before the 1960s.
Sources (in Japanese): 浦安市「漁業権放棄」, 浦安市「沿革と市域の変遷」
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We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).