Exchange semester in smaller cities?

Hello everyone, I hope this is the right sub for this.

I want to do an exchange semester (1 semester) in Japan. My question is about whether it makes sense to purposely choose a university in a smaller city. By smaller city I mean cities the size of Yamagata or Akita.

My main goals are to experience daily life in another culture (in this case Japan), have a local social circle and explore the surrounding region.

I don't care much about studying there other than for the experience of what studying in a university is like in Japan.

I don't plan to permanently move to Japan.

I can articulate myself fluently in Japanese and my listening comprehension is that I understand about 70% ish in casual conversations (B1 level I guess?).

I thought a university in a smaller city makes more sense here because:

– there are closer knit communities in smaller cities

– I am forced to speak Japanese and I end up less in an English speaking bubble

– If I wanted to experience the big cities, I could just do that on a tourist trip

So have you experienced university life in a smaller city (and maybe even also in a big city so you can compare it)? Does my rationale make sense here?

I would be very thankful for answers