Top 10 Coolest Japanese Prefectures
- Categories: News
- Date: Sep 13, 2010 02:42 JST
- Tags: Hokkaido, Marketing, Rankings, Rie Tanaka, Statistics, Tokyo, Tourism
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.
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I'm glad the Aichi prefecture isn't on the least appealing list. At least I know I live in a neutral cool area.
latex=sooooooo yummy :3
What do the pictures have to do with anything?
Was a map picture just too boring?
That's Tanaka Rie. Did you even bother to read the article?
Don't diss old temples >:|
The so-called "rural backwaters" get a bad rap. If any of you have been in the Japanese countryside, you *know* it's fucking beautiful out there. So lush and green and yet the rural exodus continues. It's a god damned shame. They don't appreciate what they have.
it's beautiful if you're a tourist making a short trip. I lived for two years in a rural area of Japan before and I'll tell ya... it sucks a lot. not having a fucking place to go in the free days aside the Tsutaya store...
gunma prefecture dorifto!
Rural Japan is beautiful.
hmm i was looking forward to Gifu soon too =\
Osaka is obviously the best. Have these other prefectures had one of the best anime characters named after them. Exactly.
/thread
i heard that every mangaka is live in saitama
lmao Gifu and Gunma are still at the bottom!
Apparently, Ibaraki is for squares.
Shit my girl is from Saitama
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.
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
Hokkaido deserves its top spot as it can be quite fascinating, separate from Honshu but hardly overshadowed like Shikoku or Kyuushuu, and its Japanese but not quite Japanese, due to its indigenous Ainu population, which is culturally distinct from Japanese.
Not to mention being a skiing resort in winter and cool enough as a summer getaway during the humid summer down south.
Haha, poor DAsaitama.
Damn I didn't even read the freaking article for five minutes. Kept on looking at Rie Tanaka's hot bod! *fap* *fap*
She likes black leather and the HK91.
That makes her plenty cool in my book.
wish i can go to those places :|
I'd vote Tanaka Rie as mayor of Sapporo or Governor of Hokkaido anytime,except that I'd have to move there to be able to...
Even if you'd move there, you'd still be unable to vote since you need citizenship to vote. And since the citizenship is almost impossible to get, best case scenario you'd get a resident permit which doesn't allow you to vote.
that's why i said i'd move there,to get a citizensihp at the very least...
I thought Ibaraki would be higher on the list, at it frequently makes it's way into Japanese popculture.
I've lived in Ibaraki and it's not that bad. Their main exports there is rice and natto. But it's mainly a countryside prefecture. I do love the nature that's there though. Very beautiful. Too bad it's ranked so low. But I can understand it.
I lived in Ibaraki as well for about six months. I loved my time there in Mito. Kairakuen park is really a beautiful place to just chill for the day.
There's little reason why Ibaraki was placed so low. They must have something against natto or Mito-koumon.
i lold
If I ever visit Japan, it will be at Okinawa.
SAITAMA~!
lol my parentslive in saitama and theyre in least appealing lol
Fukuoka didn't top 10 :/ they have awesome music.
well now I can see from where they get the names for games
Gunma! I love that area. One of my favorite hot springs is there.
Granted not much else... :) :)
Gunma should be much higher. Shibukawa is great. I stayed there for a week once.
Yeah, I got nothing.
I never heard of Nara and Hyogo. What makes them appealing?
Nara (the city) was the capital of Japan during the 8th century, it has a lot of old/famous temples, and it is in the Kansai, right next to Kyôto. Plus there are tame deers living in the city ^^
Hyôgo is another Kansai prefecture, its capital is Kobe. It also has quite a few historical landmarks, one of the main ports in Japan and an important industry.
They're both in the Kansai region? Iono, but Sakakibara Yui is from Hyogo <3
Saitama ranked low? who'da thunk it?
Nara is known for it's temples and deer roaming the park. Many anime has shown schoolgirls being accosted by hungry deer. :)
Oh, the deer! Heh, I remember... ^_^
Isn't Saitama where the Hiiragi sisters are from?
How can a holy place like that be ranked so low, @_@
They asked "Japanese" NOT "otaku" which represent an entirely different nation/race/religion/way of life.
Ah, that probably explains it. I too was a bit surprised by Saitama's rather low ranking. lol
If you want to teach English in Japan, chances are you'll be sent to the bottom of that list. With the exception of Saitama you're pretty much guaranteed to go to some shithole like Yamanashi.
I remember Rodger Swan(r.i.p) being in Hokkaido for a while before going next door to Iwate.
I knew Rodger Swan (only slightly). Cool guy. He gave me some advice before my own study abroad.
For anyone interested (was just really surprised to randomly see his name here), there is a memorial fund in his name. Just Google for Rodger Swan Memorial Fun. It is a fund to help people study abroad and enjoy all of the great experiences Rodger did. As a poor student, I can only give so much, but I donated.
Isn't Hokkaido a cultural wasteland with it's inhabitants being completely unaware of anything else other than j-pop?
Perhaps, but according to my tutor, it has some of the best food you'll ever have in Japan and at prices that won't *completely* destroy your wallet. Plus it doesn't get hot or humid there.
I was thinking of going to either Osaka, Kyoto or Hokkaido on my first trip to Japan. Any pointers and advices?
@ anon 08:45 & anon 14:44,
Sweet, any festivals in Kyoto and Akita I need to know about?
My plan is a 9 to 11 days vacation on either spring or summer. Where the days are on a festival.
With all the info provided by sankakucomplex, I'd avoided all the hassles.
I got a friend who went to a club in Tokyo, a girl ask him if he's rich.... Well he's tall and white.... typical city girls.
Oh, that Cherry Blossom festival happens around April depending on what part of Japan you're in and the Bon festival is 13-15 of August. Also don't forget Golden Week first week of May.
anon 14:44 here, but now I decided to create an account.
Check out these wiki pages for a general listing of Japanese national holidays, which apply to all of Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals
There are a lot of festivals here. I haven't checked these ones out yet but you'd want to attend the Star Festival on July 7, Hanami (Cherry Blossom/Sakura viewing), and the Bon festival. Let me know if you have any other questions.
anon 16:47 here, thanks a lot. I'll probably going to Kyoto on the first week of April or on the Bon Festival. Depending on my financial situation.
You deserve a bottle of Rhum and a cigar.
^Ditto, Kyoto if you want a more traditional Japan, Osaka and Tokyo if you want a modern Japan and shopping. My advice is Kyoto and Osaka as their both only like a 30min train ride apart. Plus you got Kobe and Nara within easy reach if you're not tight on cash like I was.
Kyoto is the best place if you want to visit historic monuments (there are hundreds of temples there) And also maybe you get in a geisha tour because it's quite awesome (you'll be shown the temples by a geiko/maiko).
If you want to see the girls, there's always Akita. The girls are well known in japan (all men know about akita-bijin)
Also the best time to go to japan would be in the spring, that way you'll see the sakura.