Japan may not be that big on a world map, but there’s a surprising number of distinct regional cultures you’ll find as you make your way from one end of the country to another. Sometimes, taking the train just a few hours in one direction will put you in a spot where people eat different foods, celebrate holidays on different days, or even talk differently from where you just came from.

So, just to be prepared to communicate as effectively as possible with the locals, you might want to take a few minutes to review these videos of women saying “I love you” in the dialects of each of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

The video collection comes from cosmetics maker Shiseido. Titled Kokuhaku Makeup Collection (Declaration of Love Makeup Collection), the series celebrates Japan’s regional linguistic beauty with a team of regional female beauties.

One by one, the area’s representatives appear onscreen, first without makeup, and then wearing Shiseido cosmetics. Each relays a brief message, peppered with as many local speech patterns as they can fit in, before declaring, “I love you.” While many of the ladies step up to the camera to open their heart to a boyfriend or husband, the theme of love is definitely broader than just the romantic kind, as the woman from Wakayama addresses her grandma, the woman from Saitama speaks to her dog, and the woman from Mie is here to talk about her belly dancing classmates.

So while the textbook version of “I love you” may be daisuki, we find out that’s just one of the many, many ways to express your feelings in Japanese. The others are:

Toyama: Suki ya cha
Yamagata: Honten daisuki da kan na
Fukushima: Suki da
Aomori: Tange da ba daisuki da yo
Fukui: Daisuki ya za

HD 2

Hokkaido: Namara suki dassho
Iwate: Zutto daisugi da sukai
Akita: Suttage suki da
Ishikawa: Suki ya yo
Miyagi: Suki desu

Tokyo: Daisuki
Nagano: Daisuki da yo
Niigata: Daisuki da kan na
Saitama: Eree suki nan yo
Gunma: Nakkara daisuki nan sa ne

HD 3

Ibaraki: Daisuki de shaanme
Yamanashi: Daisukkitsukon
Tochigi: Honto daisuki da yo
Chiba: Daisuki
Kanagawa: Daisuki

Aichi: Dera suki ya ni
Shizuoka: Bakka suki da
Hyogo: Meccha suki ya de
Osaka: Meccha daisuki ya de

HD 4

Nara: Honma ni suki ya de
Shiga: Daisuki ya de
Gifu: Meccha suki ya yo
Kyoto: Honma ni suki ya de
Mie: Meccha suki ya de
Wakayama: Meccha suki ya de

Hiroshima: Bari daisuki jake
Tottori: Meccha suki
Tokushima: Honma ni daisuki ya ken
Kochi: Kojanto suki yaki
Ehime: Daisuki yakken

HD 5

Kagawa: Suitoru ken
Shimane: Daisuki da ken
Yamaguchi: Buchi suki jakee
Okayama: Deeree suki jaken

Kumamoto: Daisuki bai
Okinawa: Deeji daisuki saa
Fukuoka: Bari suitoo yo
Miyazaki: Tege suki yaccha ken
Kagoshima: Wazzee sujjadoo

HD 6

Nagasaki: Suki bai
Saga: Gabai suitoo yo
Oita: Zutto zutto daisuki bai

Now you’re all set to love and be loved, wherever you go in Japan.

Source: Japaaan
Insert images: YouTube (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)