Prefectures of JAPAN (Geography Now!) 

I asked you guys the Patreon Patrons which country you wanted to see for filler week and this was your choice. It was difficult but I finally got all 47. Yeesh. Thanks guys. ENJOY!

-Which island do you live in? *"Hokkaido"* -Which region is it? *"Hokkaido"* -Which prefecture? *"Hokkaido"* -Alright-

It's called a filler week, but almost seems to need the same amount of research as a normal episode.

Tottori: Sand dunes, least populated, pink food. Lithuania: We should hang out sometimes.

Region timestamps: 1:16 Hokkaidō 1:43 Tōhoku 3:58 Kantō 6:38: Chūbu 10:43 Kinki 14:06 Chūgoku 16:10 Shikoku 17:45 Kyūshū

5:15 - Grape-kun passed away over three years ago though, Internet legends even claim he has since reunited with his waifu (seen above him on the photo) in the afterlife.

The prefectures of Japan have some unique, minimalist and modern looking flags. =D

1:17 Hokkaido 1:44 Aomori 2:10 Iwate 2:32 Miyagi 2:55 Akita 3:14 Yamagata 3:36 Fukushima 4:00 Ibaraki 4:16 Tochigi 4:36 Gunma 4:57 Saitama 5:23 Chiba 5:43 Tokyo 6:09 Kanagawa 6:41 Niigata 7:02 Toyama 7:27 Ishikawa 7:52 Fukui 8:16 Yamanashi 8:39 Nagano 9:11 Gifu 9:39 Shizuoka 10:12 Aichi 10:47 Mie 11:23 Shiga 12:01 Kyoto 12:21 Osaka 12:42 Hyogo 13:05 Nara 13:33 Wakayama 14:10 Tottori 14:30 Shimane 14:53 Okayama 15:18 Hiroshima 15:45 Yamaguchi 16:15 Tokushima 16:35 Kagawa 17:04 Ehime 17:22 Kochi

I’ve lived in Japan several years and visited over half of the prefectures. This is surprisingly accurate. Probably the most glaring omissions: Shizuoka is famous for WASABI. Hōkkaido, Kanazawa, and Fukui have the best crab. Miyagi is famous for the best Rice and has the oldest whisky distillery. Yamanashi is mostly known for wine. Aomori and Nagano also have strong regional dialects, actually most remote areas have a local dialect different from standard Edo/Tōkyō dialect. Kansai is particularly proud of their dialect, as the Capital region people from Ōsaka and Kyōto often use their dialect, including when performing on TV. Most Japanese know some Kansaiben.

I've always liked the flags of Japan's prefectures. I actually like them more than Japan's own flag.

First Four Pokémon Regions are based of Japanese Regions. Gen 1 (Red & Blue): Kanto Of course it is based on the region with the capital Tokyo being Kanto. Celedon City & Saffron City are based of Tokyo. Game Freak & Nintendo must have patriotism to base off the 1st region of the region their capital is in. Gen 2 (Gold & Silver): Johto This is based of Kansai. Ecruteak City is based on Kyoto. Gen 3 (Ruby & Sapphire): Hoenn Based on Kyushu. Patalbury City is based of Fukuoka. Gen 4 (Diamond & Pearl): Sinnoh Based on Hokkaido. Jubillife City is based of Sapporo. From Gen 5 to the current Gen which is Gen 8 all the regions have been based of European Countries (I.e. 6 Kalos/France (technically just the northern part of France) & 8 Galar/UK (technically the land is just England upside down but the culture is a mix of all 4 sub-countries of the UK)) & USA's States (I.e 5 Unova/New York (technically just Manhattan not the full state) & 7 Alola/Hawaii (technically just the 4 main islands not all 8)).

5:18 RIP Grape-Kun, he was the penguin of culture.

When a Filler-Week on Japan's prefectures is longer than the actual GN-Video on Japan. Progress

Country: has small, tropical islands Barbs: it's the Hawaii of (Country)

0:56 I like that "Not Japan" mark. It feels like it's the way japanese people sees the world "There is Japan and NOT Japan".

Japan people: 20% watching Foreigners: 80% While I'm watching my own country vid My people:60% Foreigners: 40%

15:46 Yamaguchi's capital ❌Tottori ⭕️Yamaguchi

This video pushes you to visit every single 48 prefecture 😂 each one is unique and worth a visit!

Barbs: Kanto! Pokemon fans: *Whomst has summoned the almighty one*

1:16 Hokkaido 北海道地方 1:43 Tohoku 東北地方 3:58 Kanto 関東地方 6:38 Chubu 中部地方 10:43 Kinki 近畿地方 14:06 Chugoku 中国地方 16:10 Shikoku 四国地方 17:45 Kyushu 九州地方 20:32 Okinawa 沖縄

I first set foot on Japan in 2015 during my transit flight from Singapore to Los Angeles, the transit airport was Tokyo Narita which I found out only last year that wasn't part of Tokyo prefecture, but is part of Greater Tokyo. I never actually "visited" during 2015 because I didn't go through immigration during the transit and was in the international zone all the time. The first time I actually visited Japan was last December, I flew from Beijing Capital to Osaka Kansai then visited Kyoto, got myself exposed to Japanese culture. My hotel was opposite Kyoto Station so it was really convenient to tour around freely. Man, Kyoto Station is big. So is the entire city of Kyoto. Kilometers away from the city center are mountains and woods, it's like the nature simply surrounds the modern city and I was in awe of this place. Next, I went to Osaka and set on a one-day tour to Nara, the poorest prefecture in Japan. They had lots of deers and it was fun feeding them until my dad's map got torn by a deer... lol. Visiting Kyoto and Nara were mainly trying local food and immersing myself in the local culture, and history. Back in Osaka, I went to Kaiyukan (the Aquarium) and saw a living narwhal for the first time in my life... basically these are some highlights of Osaka. Last, I went to Tokyo on the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka and got a hotel near Shinjuku. It was a really busy complex of roads and I almost got my family lost trying to find the hotel, lol. Tokyo was a blast. Because my sister is a huge weeb, we went to the more modern areas in the city and while she browsed for anime, I got interested by the things in electronics and computer shops... yeah, weird me. The most memorable thing from my Japan trip was probably the trains. Metro, Shinkansen, etc... they're all different systems that look chaotic but are very organized and neat when you decide to ride them. And the flags of the prefectures are dope, too.

When do we do the provinces of bandiaterra?

It's the Shibuya crossing. Not Shinjuku . Or the Shibuya scramble intersection to be more precise. Source: I live here.

14:11 Actually the largest sand dune in Japan is not this one. The largest one is on Aomori Prefecture, however, entire area is under the administration of the Ministry of Defense so Tottori's one is the largest sand dune in Japan where normal citizen can enter.

1:15-1:42 Hokkaido (Region, Island and Prefecture) 1:43-3:55 Tohoku (Aomori, Iwat,e Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, and Fukushima) 3:57-6:36 Kanto (Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, and Kanagawa) 6:38-10:42 Chubu (Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, and Aichi) 10:44-14:06 Kansai (Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara and Wakayama) 14:08-16:10 Chugoku (Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi) 16:11-17:44 Shikoku (Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kochi) 17:45-21:06 Kyushu (Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa)

Kanto region: exists Pokémon developers: I can milk you

Hey Barbs, good video! Great seeing you cover this topic. Just want to point out one thing about Fukushima - only a very small part of the prefecture is actually still under the zone of exclusion, and recently many of the areas which were formerly off-limits have since been made habitable again. The vast majority of the prefecture is completely safe to live and travel in. Sadly, the name of the power plant - Fukushima Daiichi - means that the nuclear disaster is forever associated with this entire prefecture (Japan's third-largest, many parts of which were never directly effected) which has resulted in some real stigma being attached to the land and the people, which is honestly undeserved. It's an amazing place, and the people there deserve to be known for more than one of the worst things that ever happened to them.

Love the video you made! Thanks for giving a shoutout to the prefectures! I especially love the one you made about Aomori, you gave all the highlights thanks! XD

I found it really nice how you introduced Fukui. It's often overlooked being next to Kyoto for example, but I really loved it there not just because of the dinosaurs, but they are great of course..! :)

FILLER WEEK SUGGESTION: ASEAN EXPLAINED

Fun fact: Hokkaido was the inspiration for the Sinnoh region in Pokemon platinum, diamond and pearl

5:52 There's not shinjuku crossing it's sibuya

I'm studying Japanese Language and Literature in Ankara University. This guy just summarized our whole spring term Japanese Culture lesson in 20 minutes in funny way. Amazing job, respect !

My suggestion: Administrative Divisions of China. (Provinces, Autonomous Regions, Special Autonomous Regions, Municipalities)

"Suicide Forest where logan paul made that video *tst* yea" - Geography Now but very... Disturbing

how can he miss the tsushima island

Anyway I really loved the depth of coverage you put into this video! I'm a current Japan resident and avid traveller of Japan, have lived in Okinawa and am now currently living in Ibaraki, and I've visited 34 out of 47 of these prefectures. Every one of them is special in their own way and I'm really happy you managed to showcase the uniqueness of each one.

Barbs: "Everybody knows..." Also Barbs: Tells me something I don't know

Barbs, You should do Indonesian Provinces next. Really interesting and diverse cultures from every Provinces. Put it up on the next poll man! Love your vids, From an Indonesian Geograpeep

Nice video! I'd like to see you revisit these prefectures in longer videos to get more in-depth information. I've lived in Kochi for about 5 years now and there's so much more information you can say about it.

This video gave me a lot of nostalgia from when I lived in Japan. I lived in Hyogo Prefecture (Nishinomiya). Another famous thing from Hyogo is the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female theater troupe. I loved going to their performances.

"I'm carby barby"

I love how every prefecture is so unique, and each of them specialize in some kind of industry. Now, thats what I would call harmonious geography. And btw, Japanese prefectures have the best flags everrr.

Visited 40 of the 47. Should have been 42 by now, but guess what happened to the trip I planned last year.... I like that every single prefecture very much prides itself on their unique culture, history and obviously food. I think that is one of the main reasons why I just keep visiting Japan over and over again (16 times by now), there's always something new to discover (or to eat...). It just never gets boring. It's hard to pick favorites, but I'd say Hokkaido and the Tohoku region are just that bit more special to me because of their many great matsuri and the best food of Japan. And yes, that gyutan (beef tongue) from Miyagi is the single best dish Japan has to offer.

The trip I took to Japan for my 30th birthday was the most impactful one. Incredible country. Many things are strange, either for good or bad reasons, but a lot is amazing nonetheless. Kyoto was by far the place I liked most. Perhaps you could've mentioned a whisky distillery or two along the way. Japan is becoming a really important player in that game.

"Carbie Barbie" that will go to the history books

Super late, but I've been living in Tokushima for several years now, and, while Awa Odori is definitely what we're most known for, Kazurabashi in Iya is a notable landmark! 3 ancient vine suspension bridges, but I could only stomach crossing one. Highly recommend if you want to feel like Indiana Jones. Also kinda sad you didn't mention regional ramen. I did learn some things, though!

This was fantastic! My favourite episode! Well done!

5:51 I think the famous crossing is in shibuya, not shinjuku

I’m from Osaka in Japan. Don’t be afraid,I’m not Yakuza lol I learned much from this video even Japanese me! Thank you for posting and we are waiting for you in Japan after this situation!

I think you should consider doing a video on the 20 regions of Italy sooner or later, there's a lot to talk about

Lots of scenic views, food, festivals and shrines. Love it

Geography Now is the most entertaining channel on RU-vid! Case closed

You forgot Suzuka International Racing Course in Mie, home of the Japanese Grand Prix in F1 🙂🙂🙂

My favorite prefecture was Wakayama which is where Nachi Falls, thehighest waterfall in Japan is (there's also a beautiful Temple next to it too).

How did you make me homesick for a place I'm not actually from? I used to live in Toyama prefecture, and had to commute for work ranging from Fukui all the way up to Niigata. Been to a lot of other places too, mostly in Kansai, but also around Nagoya and Tokyo. You showed a lot of photos of places I've been and things I've seen that made me want to go back. I sent you a postcard once from Sapporo that I think was taken from the exact same vantage point as the photo you showed, only at night. Beautiful place. Can't recommend it enough.

Real japanese when they hear saitama:the city Rest of the world:ONNNE PUUUUUCH!!!

Fun Fact: Some of the prefecture flags are stylized versions of their Japanese names! Btw 大阪は最高！ P.S. 山城 meaning “Mountain Castle”

5:51 Shibuya* crossing.

I lucked upon your video, I enjoyed it, and learned a little more about Japan! Greetings from Orlando,Florida USA☺

0:49 did he just _throw_ the mug?

The prefectures have amazing flags

I'm looking into placement preferences for my application to the JET Program, and I am not terribly familiar with the prefectures. I knew Hokkaido, because that's most similar to my home state of Michigan. Your video has done an immensely wonderful job at helping me get snapshots of each region, thank you so much!

Thanks for doing this as I am leaving Japan tomorrow and it is always nice to see you explain all the prefectures which even I have not known much about so thank you

I've heard people call both Saitama and Chiba "the New Jersey of Japan".

Japan is one of my biggest dreams to visit. I can’t wait till the day I can visit it 😄

Best video on RU-vid about this, thanks you so much

Thank you very much for posting this video. I’ve loved visiting Japan (it has been many years ago now). I flew into Tōkyō, then Ōsaka, then visited Nara, Hiroshima, and many places in between. Lovely two weeks. I appreciated the friendliness of the Japanese people, ease of riding the trains and taking cabs, cleanliness of the country, and just the stunning beauty of many of the temples and gardens.

2:10 Correction: Iwate is the least densely populated prefecture on Honshu, but nationally is second to Hokkaido.

Speaking as a Finn, here: Funny that the SHITake mushrooms should originate in Beppu, as ”Peppu” means ”butt” or ”bum” in Finnish. It’s like that Djibouti CRACK, all over again. 😆

I like that the swearing is bleeped out. I want to show your videos to my geography students and it's a private school! Thanks for excellent research and content.

Hey Barbs, just wanna point out at 19:05, Matsumoto Castle is actually in Matsumoto City, Nagano. Kumamoto has/had Kumamoto Castle which was partially destroyed by an earthquake a couple of years back. But overall great video. Loved it

The Japanese prefectures have such beautiful flags. I love their simplicity.

11:44 it’s called a Tanuki and they’re adorable

Do one about Argentina!!! We were one of the first when episodes where really short!!! One about the 5 regions and climates

I love japan from indonesia🇯🇵❤️🇲🇨

"You buy one, you get one free" Cheers from the UK

Fun fact: -The Shikoku island is known to have an 88 temple pilgrimage where you walk around the island clockwise visiting 88 Buddhist temples associated with the founder of the Shingon Buddhist sect, Kuki (Kobo Daishi). -Ehime Prefecture is home to the Dogo Onsen, which is the inspiration to Yubaba's bathhouse in "Spirited Away". -Kamakura is also known for their Buddha statue which became iconic in artworks and poems.

I'm Japanese but this also includes some info I didn't know. I have a deep respect for you to be quite familiar with a lot of Japanese things. Thank you for sharing anyway!

Man when you brought up momotaro you brought back so many childhood memories. Amazing video!

Tottori prefecture: *exists* Anakin Skywalker:

"Grape-kun, I love that little guy" who... who's gonna tell him?

I love this. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan but now I’m glad I haven’t yet bc then I wouldn’t have any idea where to go to, so thank you for this, Barbs! I’m gonna watch this again and take some notes.

that outro with the geography now logos is so cool

I’m from japan ibaraki and loved this video ! Well done !! I cannot wait to go and travel around my own country of japan and share my experiences !!! ❤️🇯🇵🔥

Barbs: Osaka is famous for comedy Me: Recalling Joji(Filthy frank) is also from Osaka

Great Video Barbs! I'd love to see you explain the provinces of Argentina in a future video. Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina🇦🇷

Hey can you do the regions/ provinces of Italy, I really enjoyed the regions of France video, it was so much more diverse than I thought and now can’t wait to see the differences in the Italian regions

Basashi is most famous in Kumamoto. Trust me "WINK WINK" and you misspelled "Shiragaki TANUKI" for the racoon thingy from Shiga.

14:17 Anakin's nightmare lol

Nice timing as I just finished memorizing all the prefecture names and locations haha I live in Hyogo, and you mentioned Kobe very briefly, but I think it's the most recognizable place in the prefecture. When a lot of people hear "Hyogo", they think of Kobe.

OHHH MANNNN I WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS VIDEO

This is hands down one of my favourite videos. So much interesting places to visit in Japan! I've only been to Tokyo, and after that trip, I wanted to go back.

I'm a fan from Japan! (Living in Saitama) Thank you for making this video!!

Thank you so much , as always I love your videos ❤

Great video! Some famous things missing are The Dogo Onsen in Ehime. While Tokushima is also famous for their Japan blue or Aizome dye. :)

"Osaka has some of the best comedians..." Yes, always remember Papa Franku

When you said "Tanegashima" I though you were talking about gun.

I really want to visit Japan!! :) thank you for the rundown 👏

Well done! That indoor beach in Miyazaki was shuttered like 20 years ago already, though.