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The story
The Brand Research Institute’s annual “Prefectural Appeal Rankings” for 2026 have been released, sparking a wave of reactions in a thread on 5ch’s News Express+ board. The discussion kicked off with someone pointing out that the ranking measures appeal as a tourist destination, not whether people actually want to live there. Some pushed back, noting that Hokkaido and Okinawa draw plenty of transplants in addition to tourists, while residents and natives of lower-ranked prefectures like Ibaraki, Saga, and Chiba jumped in to defend their hometowns’ charms. The thread also saw disagreements over comparisons between neighboring prefectures, such as Kanagawa vs. Saitama and Osaka vs. Kyoto.
10/3 (Sat) 21:54
Diamond Online
Every year, the hugely popular “Prefectural Appeal Rankings” article draws major attention. Let’s take a look at the latest 2026 version. Which appealing prefectures climbed the rankings this year? (Brand Research Institute, freelance writer Harumi Nishijima, Diamond Life editorial team)
Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Would you actually move to Hokkaido, Kyoto, or Okinawa?
Nah, didn't think so.
A guy who got transferred to Sapporo hated the idea before he went, but once he got there he said he wants to live there forever lol
Hokkaido and Okinawa are full of people who moved there, you know?
When I was stationed in Okinawa for work, apparently half the kids in my local friend's child's elementary school class were kids of mainlanders who'd relocated there or transferred for work.
My home Ibaraki has the sea, mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, parks, and plenty of local specialties.
Our name recognition went up too, and we finally escaped our perpetual last-place spot.
It's a prefecture that only benefits from being near Tokyo anyway.
Stick Ibaraki between Tottori and Shimane and nobody would even notice.
Hitachinaka Seaside Park is amazing.
Though it's way too crowded during nemophila (baby blue eyes flower) season.
Kagawa isn't just tourist spots — it has all the functions of a regional hub city too.
It has so little presence that people don't have any impression of it at all — good or bad.
Kanto 193,906,230
Kansai 120,737,210
Kyushu 62,575,070
Tokai 62,493,310
Hokkaido 45,434,840
Koshinetsu 38,732,940
Tohoku 38,453,050
Okinawa 32,288,990
Chugoku 26,988,290
Hokuriku 17,269,550
Shikoku 14,597,440
The gap in their rankings is way too extreme.
They're totally different lol
As a tourist destination, Kanagawa has Kamakura, Hakone, Shonan, Yokohama's Minato Mirai, Chinatown, and Motomachi, and Route 1 runs through it — it's part of the center of Japan.
Saitama is where the edge of Japan's center starts to fall off.
Also, if we're talking about actually living there, it's overwhelmingly Saitama.
Yokohama is nothing but hills, way too densely packed, taxes are high, and the roads and trains are jam-packed.
Kanagawa overall is cramped with no breathing room, and the cost-performance is terrible.
Saitama really deserves to be called a "forbidden realm" (makyo — an online joke/insult often aimed at Saitama).
I agree that Kanagawa has no breathing room and bad cost-performance.
But if you go to Tokyo, you don't think about also stopping by Saitama or Ibaraki.
That's probably what it comes down to.
No wonder the Hanshin Tigers win pennants lol (joke about Kansai regional pride/solidarity)
That's just because those places are clinging to Tokyo.
That just means Osaka itself has no appeal 🤣
Conversely, if you go to Kyoto, you wouldn't think of extending the trip to Osaka.
Kamakura lol, Hakone lol, Shonan lol
They're all kind of small-scale, with this cheap, miniature feel to them.
Aren't they basically the same as Kawagoe, Nagatoro, and Chichibu? The only difference is whether it's the sea or the mountains.
O-okay…
"Naga…" how do you even read that kanji?
You're probably a Saitama resident, but I think you should work on getting a bit more of an objective viewpoint.
Miyagi (11th)
Aomori (18th)
Niigata (22nd)
Akita (23rd)
Fukushima (28th)
Iwate (31st)
Yamagata (33rd)
Toooohokuuuuuu ><b (a jokey, dialect-flavored way of shouting "Tohoku")
I used to think my hometown and everyone in it were absolute garbage,
but it did so much better than expected that I'm tearing up lol
Those places make me want to visit, but somewhere like Ibaraki, I feel like I'd never set foot in it my whole life.
So Niigata really is part of Tohoku after all, huh.
Those places have just the right amount of rural charm, which makes them appealing as travel destinations.
They grow rice and vegetables, there's seafood from the Ariake Sea, Saga beef, and even a soccer club (J2, but still).
If you want to go out, Hakata is only 30 minutes away, there's an outlet mall, and natural disasters are rare.
Land and rent both seem cheap — I've been thinking about retiring to Saga and getting into pottery appreciation.
Won't opinions be split over Egashira? (Egashira 2:50, a comedian famous for being from Saga)
Same as Gifu — the economy isn't exactly huge, so poor access to major metro areas is fatal.
Being far from everywhere in every direction is a dealbreaker.
Living somewhere doesn't mean you never go anywhere else.
Did you even read my post?
I specifically wrote about the Tohoku Expressway and the Tohoku Shinkansen.
It's the only one in North Kanto + Saitama ranked in the 30s — gotta thank Tohoku for that.
U-jiro Kouji has a high likability rating, don't they (a comedy duo famous for their thick Tochigi-dialect act)
Honestly, if we rank Kanto tourist spots without any favoritism, it's:
↓① Tokyo (goes without saying, #1 in Japan)
↓② Kanagawa (Hakone, Kamakura, Chinatown)
↓③ Gunma (Japan's #1 hot spring cluster)
↓④ Tochigi (Toshogu Shrine, Nikko)
↓⑤ Saitama (Chichibu)
↓⑥ Ibaraki (the joke entry)
The true last place: ⑦ Chiba (a totally half-hearted, middleman prefecture)
That's how it is.
Worshipping Tokyo while treating Chiba as the enemy — ah-ha, I bet you're from Saitama.
Speaking as a country bumpkin myself,
there's no way Saitama, Ibaraki, or Gunma should be ranked this low.
I'm genuinely jealous of places where you can get to Tokyo right from your hometown.
On the other hand, I honestly have no idea what's so great about Okinawa.
Hokkaido is the best as a tourist destination though.
I actually wanted to work at a music school in Okinawa, but…
unfortunately, it required a driver's license. Shame.
Okinawa has the mildest swings between hot and cold.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The Prefectural Appeal Rankings is a survey by the Brand Research Institute asking ordinary consumers about their image of each prefecture — it measures “recognition and favorability,” which is separate from actual resident numbers or settlement rates. This mismatch is the backdrop behind the pushback from Ibaraki and Saga residents and natives in the thread. Prefectures with solid everyday infrastructure but few tourist attractions tend to score low, while prefectures with famous tourist spots tend to rank high — a structural quirk that has long been pointed out about this ranking. Also, as one comment about “escaping perpetual last place” shows, the rankings shift year to year and are easily swayed by image strategy and media exposure. What readers can easily get wrong is assuming this ranking directly reflects “livability” or “economic strength” — and most of the pushback in the thread stems from that very misunderstanding.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Survey] 2026 Prefecture Appeal Rankings — So Who’s Unfortunately in Last Place This Time…?.”
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