[steven]

Not to be a debby downer, but you might not get any of your preferences! That might work out for the better though... you never know.

To answer your questions:

I think that Japan is a country that really gets affected by the seasons. Some places get it more than others. There are extremes and places that are more mild, but you're not gonna get California type weather. Hokkaido has great summers, apparently, but their winters are really cold, or so I've heard. Okinawa doesn't really have bad winters, but I'm sure it's hotter than usual there. If you're used to the hot more than the cold, you might consider Kyushu maybe?

Unfortunately, my friends who live in Kyushu have told me some stories about some of the food from there! Don't get me wrong, though, they have a lot of good food there too. It's just that I've heard of things like eating bees and stuff like that. They do have a lot of fish there and a lot of food that is different from the rest of Japan (variations of miso soup and different kinds of noodles). Personally speaking, my favorite food in Japan seems to come from my general area. It could be that I've become acustomed to it, but I just really like it. All the local food is great. The down side is (if you don't like the cold) the winters are long. The Sea of Japan side of Japan has a lot of food that I like. It's very rural though in most areas (besides Kanazawa or Nagaoka).

If you're looking for suburban places to live, just put prefectures with big cities in them. People don't often get placed in those big cities for JET, from what I've heard. You're more likely to get a rural area though. The more rural the area, the probability of you needing a car will rise. That might prove to be a fun experience though! Tokyo has a lot of suburbs... there are a lot in the Kansai region as well. I'm not too familiar with that so hopefully someone else could help you.

As far as student loans go. I've heard of a lot of JETs who do the same. Usually the pay is quite good so you won't have to worry about much. The closer you are to a big city, the more you'll probably have to pay for rent though.

Just for some advice:
I wouldn't worry too much about where you are placed. As long as you're not placed on like some remote island or some SUPER rural area, I think you'll be ok. I think it helps to go into something like this with an open mind and not too many expectations. With that kind of outlook, being placed in a more urban or rural place than you were expecting to be might prove to be a great experience for you. As far as food goes, you're gonna get what you get most of the time. It's important to at least try something once or twice before you pass it off. No matter what, you'll probably have other JETs who live nearby who will help you find good places to eat and fun things to do, but don't let that limit you. It's important to get out on your own and just let the wind take ou where it takes you.