Choosing to live in the 田舎

I was curious about other former Jet members or current with their experience living in the countryside and if there were prefectures they recommend.

Im older than many Jet applicants, and grew up in the countryside. So I prefer smaller cities or towns compared to the larger ones. As long as a 2-3 hour shinkansen can get me to Kyoto or Tokyo for a weekend trip its not much different than driving 3hrs to get to Toronto for events.

I wanted to hear from people that had good experiences, what they liked, and where they recomend. Ive been looking into it a Hokkaido seems like a good option so far.