Okinawa, a popular Taiwanese travel destination, is voted by Japanese as the "last place they'd want to visit in their lifetime"

While many Taiwanese travelers flock to Japan, cities like Tokyo and Osaka are not the only hotspots—Okinawa is also a major draw. However, when it comes to overall popularity among Japanese travelers, opinions differ. According to a Japanese website's survey, netizens ranked the "top 10 regions in Japan they’d never want to visit in their lifetime," and the results surprised many in Taiwan: Okinawa took the top spot, followed by Saga and Tottori in second and third place.

A survey conducted by the Japanese website "Shirabe" polled 1,349 Japanese netizens aged 20 to 60 on the "regions they’d never want to visit in their lifetime." Among Japan’s 47 prefectures, Okinawa Prefecture topped the list with 9% of the vote, with most of the dissent coming from respondents aged 40 and above. Ibaraki Prefecture, which had previously ranked as the "most boring city" for several years in a row, came in seventh this time, while Hokkaido—once ranked alongside Kyoto as one of the country’s most attractive destinations—also made the list.

The top 10 prefectures that Japanese people would never want to visit in their lifetime are: Okinawa Prefecture (9.0%), Saga Prefecture (6.4%), Tottori Prefecture (5.6%), Shimane Prefecture (4.9%), Aomori Prefecture (4.7%), Kagoshima Prefecture (4.2%), Ibaraki Prefecture (3.9%), Iwate Prefecture (3.3%), Niigata Prefecture (3.2%), and Hokkaido (3.1%).

The results of the poll surprised many in Taiwan and sparked a heated debate on the PTT forum. Some Taiwanese netizens expressed disbelief, saying, "No way," pointing out that in 2015, Okinawa welcomed over 6 million domestic Japanese tourists. Others, however, commented, "If it’s similar attractions, Japanese would choose Hawaii instead," or "Not surprising, just look into the history."