All the Pretty Prefectures
2025-05-24: Update: We can check Saitama off the list.
So far, I've visited 36 of Japan's 47 prefectures.
I've been joking with my Japanese friends that I'm closing in on having visited every single prefecture for a little while now, and since I have a penchant for exaggerating, I was actually curious: how many have I actually been to?
Thankfully, because iPhone has been equipped with a GPS for so long, all my photos from our 2009 trip onward are location tagged, so I was pleased to find it was pretty easy to figure this out with Apple's Photos app.
Here are the ground rules:
- Pics or it didn't happen
- Have to actually go there (passing through in a car or train doesn't count)
- If I don't remember what I did or why I was there, it doesn't count
| 都道府県 | Prefecture | Visited? | 1st visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 北海道 | Hokkaido | ❌ | |
| 青森県 | Aomori | ✅ | 2024 |
| 岩手県 | Iwate | ✅ | 2019 |
| 宮城県 | Miyagi | ✅ | 2019 |
| 秋田県 | Akita | ✅ | 2024 |
| 山形県 | Yamagata | ❌ | |
| 福島県 | Fukushima | ❌ | |
| 茨城県 | Ibaraki | ❌ | |
| 栃木県 | Tochigi | ❌ | |
| 群馬県 | Gunma | ❌ | |
| 埼玉県 | Saitama | ✅ | 2025 |
| 千葉県 | Chiba | ✅ | 2015 |
| 東京都 | Tokyo | ✅ | 2005 |
| 神奈川県 | Kanagawa | ✅ | 2005 |
| 新潟県 | Niigata | ✅ | 2024 |
| 富山県 | Toyama | ✅ | 2024 |
| 石川県 | Ishikawa | ✅ | 2023 |
| 福井県 | Fukui | ❌ | |
| 山梨県 | Yamanashi | ✅ | 2024 |
| 長野県 | Nagano | ✅ | 2009 |
| 岐阜県 | Gifu | ✅ | 2005 |
| 静岡県 | Shizuoka | ✅ | 2023 |
| 愛知県 | Aichi | ✅ | 2009 |
| 三重県 | Mie | ✅ | 2019 |
| 滋賀県 | Shiga | ✅ | 2005 |
| 京都府 | Kyoto | ✅ | 2005 |
| 大阪府 | Osaka | ✅ | 2005 |
| 兵庫県 | Hyogo | ✅ | 2005 |
| 奈良県 | Nara | ✅ | 2005 |
| 和歌山県 | Wakayama | ✅ | 2019 |
| 鳥取県 | Tottori | ✅ | 2024 |
| 島根県 | Shimane | ✅ | 2024 |
| 岡山県 | Okayama | ✅ | 2024 |
| 広島県 | Hiroshima | ✅ | 2012 |
| 山口県 | Yamaguchi | ✅ | 2019 |
| 徳島県 | Tokushima | ❌ | |
| 香川県 | Kagawa | ✅ | 2020 |
| 愛媛県 | Ehime | ✅ | 2024 |
| 高知県 | Kochi | ❌ | |
| 福岡県 | Fukuoka | ✅ | 2009 |
| 佐賀県 | Saga | ❌ | |
| 長崎県 | Nagasaki | ✅ | 2024 |
| 熊本県 | Kumamoto | ✅ | 2023 |
| 大分県 | Oita | ✅ | 2024 |
| 宮崎県 | Miyazaki | ❌ | |
| 鹿児島県 | Kagoshima | ✅ | 2023 |
| 沖縄県 | Okinawa | ✅ | 2024 |
Working through this list, I was surprised by how many places I'd visited for a day trip or passed through without so much as staying the night. (Apparently 11 years passed between my first Kobe trip and my first overnight stay?) This exercise also made it clear to me that having a mission like my 2024 Nihonkai Tour is a great way to string together multiple short visits while still retaining a strong impression of each place.
Anyway, now I've definitely got some ideas for where I ought to visit in 2025! 🌄