I feel like as foreign residents, not foreign tourists, we have a perspective that isn't muddied by the thrill of a international vacation/seeing every little thing as exotic. For me at least, that means I don't go to places just to post on my feed, I can compare places to the prefecture I live, and I have the ability to talk to locals.
So here's the criteria: You must have stayed at least 0.5 to 1 full day there, and spent one night. So this excludes overnight rest stops where you arrive at night, and leave in the morning without doing anything there.
For me:
– This was the year I started weekend trips after years of dreaming about it. To date, I've visited all but 7 prefectures (the 4 on Shikoku, along with Wakayama, Mie, and Shimane prefectures).
– My favorite prefecture so far is Tochigi prefecture. Great food, great architecture of historical significance, great nature, but also great transportation network, it has it all for me except the sea obviously. Nikko, Kinugawa, Shiobara, Utsunomiya, all top class.
– My least favorite so far is Miyazaki prefecture. Love the nature, but it's hard to get to and the transportation within it is sparse. For most people I reckon they'd be satisfied plenty by the surrounding prefectures with a far smoother experience.
by SymphonyofSiren