Timeless fields of Abiko-shi, Chiba-ken

Chiba can be a bit of a cultural wasteland, but even so, it’s surprising to find large, flat, uninterpreted and undeveloped areas of land like this (map):

Here’s a glimpse from the ground (map):

We are in Abiko City 我孫子市, Chiba. This area comprises BENTENSHITA 弁天下 and KITASHINDEN 北新田; oddly, a small portion of BENTENSHITA is completely separate, surrounded entirely by KITASHINDEN.

Here are some aerial photos from 1974/78 to 2007. Other than the season and/or the crops being planted, the fields show very few signs of change, though some differences can be seen on the surrounding lands.

1974/78 and 1979/83:

1984/87 and 1988/90:

2004 and 2007: