Top 10 results reveal the special places around Japan that people most want to live in.

Japan has 47 prefectures stretched out between its five main islands, and each one is great to live in for its own reasons. In terms of which is the best, data indicated that it’s Fukui Prefecture, though resident surveys reported otherwise. People who currently live in Hokkaido love living there and are happy to stay…but is it appealing to people who live in other prefectures? What about you? If you could move to any prefecture in Japan, where would you choose to go?

A survey by Brand Research Institute, Inc. revealed where in the country Japanese people most would like to live. It asked 31,369 people the question, “Would you want to live in ___ Prefecture?” for each prefecture, and the participants were given five response options: “I really want to live there,” “I’d like to live there”, “I wouldn’t mind living there”, “I don’t feel one way or another about living there”, and “I don’t really want to live there”. Each answer was worth a specific amount of points (100 for the first, then 50, then 25, and 0 for the last two). The weighted average of all the responses for each prefecture determined its position in the ranking.

Unsurprisingly, Tokyo turned out to be the most desirable place to live. It beat out its neighbor Kanagawa Prefecture, which was last year’s most popular prefecture. In total, 49.2 percent of the respondents had some desire to live in Tokyo, which earned the city an average score of 26.3. Kanagawa, which was bumped down to second place, earned 22.0 points. Though a slightly higher percentage of respondents expressed at least some desire to move there (49.7 percent), only 9.2 percent expressed strong desire by answering “I really want to live there”, while 14.1 percent of respondents expressed strong desire to move to Tokyo.

In third place was Hokkaido, which moved up from fourth place, followed by Osaka, moving up from fifth, and Kyoto, which dropped down from third. Though their rankings have moved around a bit, the top five prefectures remain the same as last year. The top 10 prefectures were as follows:

1. Tokyo (26.3 points)
2. Kanagawa (22.0 points)
3. Hokkaido (19.5 points)
4. Osaka (18.3 points)
5. Kyoto (17.5 points)
6. Fukuoka (16.6 points)
7. Hyogo (15.2 points)
8. Okinawa (14.9 points)
9. Chiba (13.5 points)
10. Aichi (12.2 points)

▼ Beautiful places like Bihoro Pass likely helped bump Hokkaido up to third.

The participants were also asked questions that determined their impression of each of the prefectures based on 84 factors, including the quality of its medical care, strength of its athletic programs, and environmental friendliness of its cities. As it turned out, the factors that seemed most important to respondents ended up being the beauty and style of the prefecture as well as the quality of education and child care.

Among the prefectures ranked according to the appeal of their cities and land, Tokyo came in at number one, with Kanagawa second; Hyogo, which neighbors Osaka in west-central Japan, third, followed by Kyoto, and then Fukuoka, on the south-western island of Kyushu. For child-rearing and education, Saitama prefecture, bordering the north of Tokyo, took the first spot; followed by Tokyo, Kanagawa, Hyogo, and Akita, which is in northeast Japan.

▼ Tokyo Skytree plays a part on the visual appeal of the city.

The results of the questionnaire seemed to indicate that a person’s impression of a prefecture’s education and child-rearing opportunities, as well as its beauty, were the most determining factors of the prefecture’s desirability. Brand Research Institute hopes that this information will help local governments improve the appeal of their prefecture and cities, to bring in more residents from out-of-prefecture.

In the end, data-praised Fukui Prefecture didn’t even make the top 10, but we’re not surprised that Tokyo ranked so highly. Given that it’s a huge city with lots of amazing architecture and beautiful views, as well as plenty of opportunities for child care and education, it was bound to be a highly desirable place to live. But we’re also not surprised that Hokkaido made it to number three, considering they’ve got the best local cuisine in the country!

Source: Nico Nico News via My Game News Flash
Featured  image: Pakutaso
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