Japanese asked about how appealing they consider each of the 47 Japanese prefectures have rendered their verdict – the frigid wastes of Hokkaido are the place to be, with the nation’s capital scraping in at 4th.
Whether Hokkaido’s top placing (along with its capital Sapporo being top city) has anything to do with Sapporo being Rie Tanaka’s birthplace is naturally a matter of some conjecture…
The most appealing prefectures, ranked according to the strength and recognition of their “brand” as perceived by Japanese survey participants:
1. Hokkaido
2. Kyoto
3. Okinawa
4. Tokyo
5. Nara
6. Kanagawa
7. Osaka
8. Hyogo
9. Nagasaki
10. Nagano
Tourism (as with Hokkaido, Kyoto and Okinawa) and the presence of large metropolises (such as Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama/Kanagawa) seem the main arbiter of how well regarded a region is.
The 2010 results shown here exhibit practically no change from the 2009 results of last year.
The least appealing:
38. Yamaguchi
39. Gifu
40. Tottori
41. Gunma
42. Tokushima
43. Saitama
44. Fukui
45. Tochigi
46. Saga
47. Ibaraki
Those who have never heard of these can probably count their blessings – although Saitama’s enduring image problem comes in spite of it being a relatively central area, as opposed to a depopulated rural backwater like many of the other low ranking prefectures.
Those not wanting a bunch of ski-slopes and rotten temples clogging up their rankings can head straight to the top 10 sexiest prefectures of Japan.
I’ll be going to Ibaraki next time I’m in Japan for Rock in Japan! That has to make it a little cool.
Hokkaido has:
The best food
The prettiest women
The friendliest atmosphere (strangers talk to each other on the street…that doesn’t happen much in Tokyo…it does in Osaka, though)
Sapporo has the best traffic
The best accent/dialect
Rie Tanaka was born in Sapporo? No wonder I’m drawn to that location.
Two Rie Tanaka posts in one month. I am very happy Sankaku.
lmao Gifu and Gunma are still at the bottom!
Apparently, Ibaraki is for squares.