Noda, city, northwestern Chiba ken (prefecture), east-central Honshu, Japan, between the Edo and the Tone rivers. The city served as an important river port during the Edo (Tokugawa) era (1603–1867), when it first became known for its production of soy sauce. The central area of Noda now contains numerous soy sauce factories and other factories related to its production. Since World War II Noda has gradually developed as a residential suburb of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. Pop. (2005) 151,229; (2010) 155,491.