Last night Sarah & I were chatting on Skype and we were discussing places, in particular prefectures, we had been to in Japan- I think I may have had her on numbers (maybe? Correct me if I am wrong Sarah!). I realized though, that despite the small size of the country I have not really been to many places…Sarah definitely had me on the geography of Japan though- I am hopeless with geography in general (odd since I am really good at reading maps?- go figure) – I even said to her “Don`t think I have been to Hyogo, where is it” and she replied “Hyogo is where Kobe is, so you have been there when you visited me” – see, that is how bad my geography is!!!
Japan has 47 prefectures, which I guess for those Americans and Australians out there are kind of like states. Although considering the size of Japan vs Australia and 47 prefectures vs 8 states and territories it is obvious that prefectures in Japan are quite small!
Here is a map-
Now of those 47 prefectures I have only been to only 16 of them, I think (I class “going to” as more than driving through or stopping for a toilet break while driving through/shinkansenning it past- but you do not have to have stayed the night)- They are from top to bottom Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Nagano, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Hiroshima & Okinawa. I am not sure how many Shun has gone to before- but I think it might even be less than me…as he has never been to Hyogo, Hiroshima or Fukushima I think but I may be wrong (he may have been to others I am not aware of though- after all he has lived there for pretty much 28 years straight!). Three of the prefture trips were for snow trips- Fukushima, Nagano, & Niigata. Having lived in Tokyo, I have been to Kanagawa, Chiba & Saitama quite a lot. Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima when I was an exchange student and Osaka and Kyoto again a couple of other times. Nara/Hyogo with Sarah last year and Shizuoka when I was on exchange and went for a day trip to go fishing. Okinawa was a couple of years back with Shun and Nikko is in Tochigi and I went a couple of years back. Ibaraki was when I was on exchange and I went back to a friend`s hometown (Yes, there was a lot of Natto)
It does not seem like that many though- especially considering there are several other prefctures close by that would be within “day trip” range…or at the very least an overnight stay.
So, while making it to EVERY prefecture might be a little ambitious my hope is to visit at least another five over the next five years! I do not really have to many preferences but I would love to see Nagasaki (and Hakone, but turns out that is in Kanagawa prefecture!), Fukuoka, Gunma (Well it is close!), Aichi & Hokkaido…I am sure there are plenty of other nice prefectures to check out also and I certainly have blog friends all over so maybe I will be coming to crash on your sofa sometime soon!
Those of you in Japan (or who have visited) which prefectures have you been to and what could you recommend?
Aussies- what states/territories haven`t you been to! Sadly I have only been to three- Queensland, NSW & Victoria- Slack I know! I have never been to any American states but I think my brother has been to about 5 on his recent trip there last year…
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to find my way in a country that is not my own! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son {Shion} in January 2011- yes they are just over 12 months apart so life is a little insane with two toddlers underfoot. I am working hard at raising them to be curious, confident, bilingual and happy kids.
Haha… I am laughing you made a blog about our chat last night
I have been to 17(!) prefectures!
Okayama, Tokushima, Kagawa, Hyogo, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Shiga, Wakayama, Shizuoka, Nagano, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Tokyo, Niigata, and Fukushima.
Although none below Okayama or above Niigata/Fukushima – how pathetic!! I hope to at least add Hokkaido and Okinawa to the list!!
Obviously I’ve never been anywhere in OZ! But I have been in quite a few of the American states… Probably over 1/3 of them…
Wow you guys have been quite a few places! I’m kind of jealous.. there are so many places I’d love to go! Places like Okinawa, that ice festival in Hokkaido..anywhere really.
So far… Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Shizuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagano, Aichi. = EIGHT, I supose.
I agree!! There’s soooo many tiny prefectures on such a tiny island. Canada 10 provinces has and 3 territories… very easy to memorize lol I have no idea where half the places in Japan people talk about are (though neither do most Japanese people apparently) =P Yay for maps!
Hokkaido, (in GW- I don’t ski) Akita, (amazing onsens) Yamagata, (for seafood) Miyagi (smelly rellies, yummy beef tongue), Fukushima (lived there), Tochigi (camping), Ibaraki, (they have a whole town devoted to gyoza!)Gunma (rellies), Saitama (lived there), Chiba (convention), Tokyo (as little as possible)Kanagawa (Hakkone, right?) Yamanashi (grapes and wineries) Nagano(heaven on earth;P)Toyama (beach- don’t recommend it) Niigata (amazing seafood and great beaches)Aichi (well just Nagoya..) Kyoto (tourist) Osaka (Uni) Nara (host family while at Uni in Osaka) Hyogo (date in Kobe illumination) Hiroshima (tourist) Wakayama (beach) Yamaguchi (wedding) I think that’s 24? I’m over half way- wow. I’d love to go to the islands of the inland sea (beach), shikoku (sanuki udon), kyushu (beppu), okinawa (beaches) and aomori (fellow apple producing prefecture and I hear they have an amazing dialect)
I’ve lived in enough places in Honshu to know most mainland prefectures but kyushu and shikoku are still mysteries to me. And if it makes you feel better K told me there was a ‘Kobe-ken’… I think he slept through geography…
I’ve never been to Japan or Australia so I kind of suck on that one. There’s even a whole stack of counties in England I’ve never visited, and I expect to an Aussie everywhere in England is probably within daytrip distance. A question though, I was looking at the map and I’m confused. Where is Wagamama? I hear about people visiting there all the time so it must be a popular destination, but I don’t see it on the map.
Sarah- Well you did get me then! You have visited more prefectures- I will beat you out soon though I am sure
lol! Maybe we will visit a couple new ones together- some near Niigata perhaps!
I think 1/3 of the American states is a pretty good effort!
Khea- You have never been to Saitama?? It is right next door! hehe! So that can be an easy one you can cross off your list! You have spent less time in Japan than Sarah & I I think though- so give yourself another year or so and I think you will be able to cross of a few more! You could also go visit Sarah in Niigata- you baby girls will only be about a month or so apart right?
Heather- Firstly, kobe-ken! That cracked me up. Shun has bad geography too- the first time he visited me in Australia I asked him on his second day “what do you want to do today” and he replied “drive to ayers rock” – had to explain it would take the rest of his trip in Australia to drive there…hehe!
You have been to heaps!!!!!!!! Jealous! Might have to check out Akita and Yamagata based on your recommendations!
Jay- I have not been to many counties in England either- only a couple! Plus Scotland.
Wagamama is a resteraunt in Australia for Japanese food- maybe they have it in the UK also- Wagamama means selfish in Japanese….Not sure if it is actually a place in Japan or not though.
hm…by my calculation 22 prefectures, so nearly half. i live in kyushu so of course i’ve been to all of the prefectures there: fukuoka, saga, nagasaki, oita, kumamoto, miyazaki, kagoshima and okinawa. i have also lived in chugoku and been to all the prefectures there: tottori, shimane, yamaguchi, okayama and hiroshima. i studied japanese in kyoto so i have been to kyoto, nara, osaka and shiga. as a jet i went to hyogo of course. so, out of kansai, i haven’t been to wakayama nor mie. of course i’ve been to tokyo and chiba, but nowhere else in kanto. and i went on a ski trip to zao, so miyagi and yamagata. *phew*
still haven’t been to shikoku although it’s been on my list for a long time. and i have wanted to go to hokkaido since the day i arrived in japan. nearly ten years on and…
i have been to 20 or so states, less than half. ah well, the US is huge!!
sorry, i am giggling about wagamama. tee hee!
I love Okinawa too! Summer is coming so if you’re looking for some beaches to hit–soon is the time!
Everywhere in Chubu, Kanto and Kansai about 22, been to all 50 states in the US, three states in AU, England a few towns (loved London) but the truth is, in regard to all the prefectures I have not fully enjoyed each one- DH always get sent to Osaka or Tokyo and Chiba, but that is about it, all the other places were stop and go’s, grabbing good eats or seeing a touristy area. France city side and countryside- I prefer France and Hawaii over anywhere, well Switzerland too, Germany is fabulous.
I really want to spend time at least a two-night sight seeing in other prefectures, very excited about Hokkaido.
Hi
Another great post! I’ve really enjoyed your last couple of posts in particular, i think because i can relate to them! Not that your other posts aren’t interesting of course ;;p
It’s such a ‘guzen guzen’ – coincidence – because we were out @ a yakiniku place on Sunday night with another Jpn/Aussie couple and the subject of how many prefectures came up. None of us were 100% sure so i looked it up later and found this exact map! I’m always complaining to Masa that he doesn’t know the answer to my questions about Japan. Sometimes i feel like i know more than he does, but i think “who is going to teach our future kids about Jpn?” I’m sure that’s not right, but i seem to know more about the touristy/geographic side – probably from my much-loved Lonely Planet. Anyway back to the question. I’ve visited a few kens between Ibaraki and Nagasaki, mostly because I’ve used the JR Pass several times and i try to make the most of it when i go, i love the JR Pass it rocks!! Places I’d like to go are Hokkaido (snow/ice festival and lavender season), Aomori (the festival with the tall lanterns, can’t think of the name) and Okinawa. I also want to visit Yakushima except i heard it rains most of the time!
I highly recommend Hakone – although touristy, we had such a fun time – i love anywhere with chair lifts/cable cars and i always try to eat the ‘regional soft cream’ flavour ::)
Miyajima is beautiful as well.
In Aus i haven’t been to many places at all! Just Gold Coast (first time last year) & Dunk Island in Queensland, some places in NSW mostly nearish to Sydney, Melbourne for the weekend once and Tasmania when i was a kid. This is something Masa & I want to do, get out and visit Australia more. Want to go to WA and NT especially. Ok that’s enough! ::)
China has 31 Provinces, but I think Provinces (or probably US States for that matter) would be more like the bigger classification — the Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, etc,? How is the government organized? Does Kanto have its own Kanto government, with Tokyo, Gunma and the rest having seperate prefecture governments within it? If prefectures are the next size down from the National government, that’s pretty crazy, so many prefectures for such a small place! Here we have provinces, then counties, then cities, then towns, then villages. I think. For Chinese provinces I’ve only ever been to Yunnan, Hebei, Hainan, Guangdong, Sichuan and Guangxi, although I’ve passed through a lot more than that. In the States I think I’ve been to maybe 10 or so States. In Japan I’ve only been to Tokyo and Sendai — Sendai is in Tohoku — is it in Miyagi? I can’t recall, it was over 10 years ago that I went!
Yay! I’m representing the Kansai region!
I currently live in Mie. Within Mie, I have visited the Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara prefecture.
In Mie, it seems, we do not get any snow during the winter – all you get is blustery, chilling wind.
I would recommend the Kyoto or Osaka prefecture, I suppose, since those two prefectures are more built-up, and you could definitely find more job opportunities and more entertainment.
In 10 years I’ve only been to Tokyo, Chiba, Aichi, Nagano, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Saga, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima. That’s 12. Our prefectures are bigger down here!
Kagoshima is the best of all though. If you like surfing or onsens or history or eating meat, this is the place to be!
I’m going to bet Jay was kidding. It’s hard to tell sometimes.
In Australia, I’ve been to WA, SA, Vic, NSW & NT. Only Qld, Tas and ACT to knock off the list, which isn’t too bad, given how big the country is, and that I’d only been to WA and the NT until 2005.
Illahee- WOW you have been to a lot as well- so jealous of the amount of travel you have done down South- When I make it down that way I might have to stop by to meet you and the other Kyushuu bloggers!
The wagamama thing made me laugh too- but then I stressed there might actually be a place named that? I do not think so though!
HDR- Okinawa was awesome when I went- I definitely hope to go back one day, maybe with out future kiddies.
Girl Japan – You have done a lot of travel! I am jealous. When I finally make it down Aichi way I will stop in to visit you!!! Hokkaido is a place I REALLY REALLY want to visit too!
Rachael in Sydney- Wow you have done a fair bit as well- Masa sounds a lot like Shun when it comes to Geography! I wish I had done more travel in Australia- I hope to get to Tasmania sometime soon!!! It has been on my “ikitai” list a long time!
Jessica- As far as I know each prefecture has its own government! Funny you should ask about kanto, tohoku etc having their own governments- see they can`t because not everyone agrees on the boundaries! lol! Some people say that Niigata is Tohoku or Kanto for example…
I dont know which prefecture Sendai is in- but I have always wanted to go!!! I didn`t know you had been to Japan before.
I passed through quite a few China provinces when I was in China 18 months ago but I only really visited three- the ones where Beijing, Shanghai and Xian are…
Laura- I would like to see Mie! It does not seem you will be there much longer though, hey? If you are still there is six months or so maybe I could come to visit. What is good to see in Mie, and what is it famous for? I really really need to get to know Japan better!
Kansai is great- apart from some of the extreme weather! lol! Kyoto is one of my fav places in Japan- I still have not seen it all but have been three times now always have a great time!
Amanda- you snuck in while i was typing!!
woah- you have been to a lot of the Aussie states- I am jealous! Won`t be long before you will be able to mark them all off you list.
I did wonder if Jay was kidding- it was hard to tell?!
Hey Lulu, just catching up on your blog as i haven’t had internet access for a while! London is great, but the tube is so unreliable! We’ve been stranded in strange places quite a few times already and we’ve only been here for 2.5 weeks!
I haven’t been to many prefectures – Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Miyage, Fukushima, Yamagata, and randombly, Gifu – but each of them had their own special things so I’d recommend visiting as many places as you can!
Your wedding is really soon! So exciting! Hope everything is on track!
It’s always interesting to learn about geographical divisions in other countries – I’m in the US so I know the 50 states, and the Canadian provinces and territories, and was familiar with Aussie states, but don’t know much about other countries.
I’ve been to 15 US states, and THROUGH 17 more (an overnight hotel stay during a road trip or airport connection doesn’t count as actually visiting the state). I’ve been to 2 Canadian provinces as well. One of these years I’ll get to the rest, as well as a few other countries!
Not enough people have been to Kyushu – or more specifically Oita! We hope to see you all here soon… there are plenty of “bloggers” with spare beds and children to keep you occupied during your time here!
Good question let me think.
I have been to Ibaraki (I live actually RIGHT near Ibaraki) , Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Hyogo, Osaka (hubs is from Osaka been there a lot), Nara, Kyoto, Shiga, Wakayama (went to Shirahama for onsen with hubs whole family), been to Shizuoka, Nagano (3-4 times), Tokyo, Aichi. Mie, Tochigi, So 16 total for me so far.
I would *love* to visit Kyushu, Hokkaido and Okinawa one day!!! : )
Jess- Oh my, how are you doing? How was your honeymoon? Are you settling in okay in England? I hope so!!!!
The wedding is coming up- 2 weeks today. EEK!
You ahve been to a fair few prefectures- a couple I have not been too. How was Gifu? I almost went to a uni in Nagoya and almost another in Gifu! I can not imagine what my life would be like if I had not gone to Seikei since that is where I met Shun!
Kirsten- Well you are way up on me when it comes to American states as I have never been. Some of the places on my list i have only been there for day trips etc which is entirely possible due to the close nature of some of the prefectures- a couple others I have only been to overnight like Nagano where I stayed only one night for a ski trip!!!
I hope to add more to my list very soon!
Jo Tomoka- Yes- we should totally organize a bloggers event in Kyushuu in Oita even! Will you organize it?
I can help but I will need a little help from a local- how about next summer? Would love to be able to cross off some of the southern prefectures!
Gina- You have been to the same number as me in fact we have been to a lot of similar places- you left Tokyo off the list? but I assume you have been there?? I forgot your hubs was from Osaka- nice to live in one place but have family in another as you could totally use that as a base for more travel down that way!!
Hi there : ) Tokyo is on my list. I just did a double check. It’s (let me go check…
Okay it’s sandwiched between Nagano and Aichi. : P
I think it’s cool we have been to the same number of prefectures. I’d like to see more too. Hopefully someday.
this is fun! I counted up that I have been to 31 prefectures in Japan (just got back from Okinawa!!) Most of them have been road trips with J.
My favourites areas would be Kyushu (lived there for 6 years) and Tohoku (car-camping trips in summer) for sure!!
I have only been to Kochi in Shikoku, so Shikoku is on my list of to-go-tos. Also lacking much Chugoku experience, so hope to get there sometime soon too.
My family used to take 1-2month long campervan trips around Australian when I was young so I have been to all the states in Aus except WA without my family. WA I went to with my Japanese host father and drove all around Perth and Esperance!
As for the US, only been to Hawaii and California. oh and Guam, does that count as one of the 50states??
Still so many places to see……..
I’ve never been to Japan, but having been an avid reader of your blog for some time, you’ve made me want to visit!!
I have visited every state and territory of Australia, apart from NT. Can’t say I have a great desire to go there, but probably will one day. I’ve also been to 8 US states, and 3 Canadian provinces!
Only two weeks to the wedding?! So exciting! Can you have a video link-up via Skype so I can see
ha ha x
i am in nagasaki!!! come on down and see me!!!!!
i have been to all of the 5 main islands…went all around hokkaido for 3 weeks… have been all over kyushu… 3 days in naha, okinawa…. one week stay on shikoku and tokyo/osaka/kyoto/nara… have never counted all the prefectures though….
see you when you come to nagasaki!!!
Hmmm, I’ve been to I think 46) of the US states (I’m missing Oregon, georgia,Lousiana, and Alaska)…and I’ve been to Tassie, Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.
Da-amn, I get around.
I’ve never been to Japan
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