what cities/prefectures are located in northwest Japan?

[kawaiineko]

My boyfriend and I plan to move to Japan permanently (it will not be for years; how many years until we move I don't know). I'm trying to learn Japanese so I can communicate with them in their native tongue and I can understand what they're saying. Learning Japanese and communication will be difficult because of the language barrier, and because even when I move to Japan (even though I have years to prepare with learning Japanese before I leave) I'll still only be semi-fluent in it.

That said I really don't want to move to a very rural place in Japan, because that will exacerbate an already daunting task. I have heard southern Japan has a very rural dialect that is very different from "standard Japanese". We would like to move to place where there is much natural beauty and nature surrounding us. Essentially we would like to live in Northwest or northeast Japan. Help with this would be appreciated.

We've already looked at some cities/prefectures in northeast Japan which look very promising. However I would like to look at some cities/prefectures located in Northwest Japan just to keep our options open. Please don't give cities that are located near southern Japan (read what I said above please; it explains quite clearly why)

If somebody could give me some cities located in Northwest Japan, that would help

ありがとう　ございます

[Hatredcopter]

What do you mean by northern Japan? Northern Honshu or Hokkaido?

Northern Japan (Tohoku) also has a very distinct dialect that's different from standard Japanese . Unless you're talking about Hokkaido - most of the people there do speak standard Japanese.

Where you move is going to be limited to where you get employed at. Both of you need to get a job (and a visa of course). You might be hard pressed to find a decent job as a semi-fluent gaijin in some of the less 'international' areas of Japan, although teaching English would be your best bet.

The only city I've been to in northern Japan is Sendai - it's a very beautiful place, and certainly a decent-sized city.

[jasonbvr]

Hatredcopter is right, they have their own dialect very much like the Kansai and Chugoku areas. You have to remember though that all Japanese study the standard Tokyo dialect in school and are completely capable of understanding you.

Could you be a little more specific about your question? Like what prefectures are you asking about?

[YaksokuDa]

Niigata, if that counts as North West >.< ..I want to go there.

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by YaksokuDa

Niigata, if that counts as North West >.< ..I want to go there.

Yeah, I think it does. Niigata City is obviously the biggest city. From what I have heard, Niigata in general is a little less rural than say Nagano.

[kawaiineko]

Unfortunately I know little about the prefectures of Japan. Most of my time and effort goes into studying and practicing the Japanese language. The region we were looking at was the Sendai region and Sendai is located near Tokyo; some of the Japanese at local businesses they do speak English. I know this because we were looking at tourist attractions because we would like to visit Japan before we move there, and it states quite clearly with some of the attractions, English and Japanese are spoken there.

I don't know what perfecture we're planning on moving to. I also realize that each city is going to have it's own distinct dialect. I'm willing to adjust to learning that dialect, because mastering it will be essential for good communication. However, I don't want the local dialect to be so "different" from standard Japanese that I'm going to have no clue what they're talking about. Learning Japanese is proving to be a quite difficult task as is; I don't need a dialect so vastly diverse from "Tokyo Japanese" as it was referred, because as said earlier it will exacerbate becoming fluent in Japanese.

Basically I'm looking for a prefecture in northwest Japan that isn't so rural. I would like a prefecture that is a combination of a suburbs and rural. This is what I found in Sendai. However, I would like to keep my options open by looking at the prefectures in Northwest Japan. I don't want to move to northern Japan, because the climate will be really cold in the winter, which isn't my cup of tea. This is why I'm looking in Northwest or Northeast Japan.

A city i found was called Akita. I believe it's located in Northwest Japan, but like I said I don't know a whole lot about their prefectures.

[jasonbvr]

Alright, that helps quite a bit. Well, if you are not fond of the cold and snow, Akita prefecture should not be on your list. In fact, anything north of Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma probably shouldn't be on there as well. As far as the west coast of Japan goes, in the winter time this is where all our cold air and blessed snow comes from. Chiba and Ibaraki would be good prefectures for you along with southeastern Gunma and Tochigi. Warning though, Gunma has strong, cold winds blasting across it during the winter because the southeastern portion is basically a big plain.

I honestly think that Ashikaga, Tochigi-ken or the region I live in Ota, Gunma-ken may be ideal. Also Saitama can be fairly rural in it's northwestern half.

Here's a fun little fact to keep in mind, most Japanese houses and apartments are not insulated. But hey, you can buy more blankets and coats!

[kawaiineko]

arigatou gozaimasu for your help and advice.

Are the places you recommended rural, yet semi-industrialized? By this I mean, yes nature and countryside is abundant, but there are also some cities and towns around these areas too? The place I checked out (Sendai) was a mix of rural life, yet it also had some cities and towns nearby and located in the perfecture.

We're trying to avoid places that are overpopulated (big cities we don't want to live in). Like I said, we're looking for a country style town or small city, but we don't want it in
Southern Japan.

My boyfriend doesn't want to live in southern Japan because the climate there is too warm for his taste. I don't want to live in Southern Japan because I heard they have a very different dialect that you have to be a native Japanese in order to understand and communicate in. Since I don't qualify as this being a gajin, I'm trying to avoid living in Southern Japan as a result. These places you listed, are they prefectures or cities located in prefectures? Like I said, I don't know much about Japanese geography.

[samokan]

why are concern about the dialect? if you know Japanese, you can speak it and they will understand you regardless of whatever dialect in the area is. if you speak proper Japanese to a local, they will speak to you in proper Japanese also. They know that you are a foreigner, so they do not expect you to speak the local dialect .

And Sendai, might be a good choice. I have never been there personally, but lots of my friends who have visited the area loved it, but it is cold there in winter.

[kawaiineko]

Because currently I do watch some manga anime where Japanese is spoken and there are English subtitles. They speak so fast I haven't a clue what they're saying ( I can pick out words if I've learned them and recognize their sound; or I can pick out kanji if I've learned it). I even recognize some single kanji characters (if I've learned them in a compound, unfortunately some single kanji i can't translate to romaji and/or give the English translation for, because I haven't learned that kanji yet).