So the biggest tip here is: If you want an easier route, choose a prefecture with fewer teams, and if you want more of a grind or challenge, choose a busier one. I chose Aomori both because I like the area and think it’s cool, and because it has a regular number of teams. Tokyo or Osaka would have been cool, but they have so many teams!
Process #
The first screen selecting locations is to select your general region. The selected region will be highlighted on the right side in the map. The status bar at the bottom states the selected region with the prefectures included, but if you’re not reading kanji yet, this won’t be much help. Here, I’ve highlighted Tohoku (東北地区) in the north.
Once you select the region, you select the actual prefecture you want to locate your school in. The path is easier if you’re in a rural area because there are fewer schools competing for the prefectural slot to Koshien, and the prefectural tournament has fewer competitors as well. The Tokyo and Osaka areas are naturally the most competitive because they are the areas with the highest population density.
At the bottom of the prefecture selection screen, you’ll see the name of the prefecture and the population in stars out of 10, as well as a population density category. Here, I’ve selected Aomori, the northernmost prefecture other than Hokkaido.
Prefecture List #
Highest in Italics, Above Average and Average in regular type, Lowest in bold
Note: All regions have 「地区」 at the end of them in the game, meaning “region”. You can pronounce it “chiku” if you want.
Hokkaido (北海道) #
- North Hokkaido (北北海道) - Above Average
- South Hokkaido (南北海道) - Above Average
Touhoku (東北) #
- Aomori (青森) - Normal
- Iwate (岩手) - Above Average
- Akita (秋田) - Normal
- Yamagata (山形) - Normal
- Miyagi (宮城) - Above Average
- Fukushima (福島) - Above Average
Kanto (関東) #
- Ibaraki (茨城) - Above Average
- Tochigi (栃木) - Normal
- Gunma (群馬) - Normal
- Saitama (埼玉) - Very High
- Chiba (千葉) - Very High
- Kanagawa (神奈川) - Very High
- Yamanashi (山梨) - Normal
Tokyo (東京) #
- East Tokyo (東東京) - Very High
- West Tokyo (西東京) - Very High
North Shinetsu (北信越) #
- Niigata (新潟) - Above Average
- Nagano (長野) - Above Average
- Toyama (富山) - Normal
- Ishikawa (石川) - Normal
- Fukui (福井) - Below Average
Tokai (東海) #
- Shizuoka (静岡) - Above Average
- Aichi (愛知) - Very High
- Gifu (岐阜) - Above Average
- Mie (三重) - Normal
Kinki/Kansai (近畿/関西) #
- Hyogo (兵庫) - Normal
- Kyoto (京都) - Above Average
- Osaka (大阪) - Very High
- Nara (奈良) - Very High
- Shiga (滋賀) - Normal
- Wakayama (和歌山) - Normal
Chugoku (中国) #
- Okayama (岡山) - Normal
- Hiroshima (広島) - Above Average
- Tottori (鳥取) - Below Average
- Shimane (島根) - Normal
- Yamaguchi (山口) - Normal
Shikoku (四国) #
- Kagawa (香川) - Normal
- Tokushima (徳島) - Below Average
- Ehime (愛媛) - Normal
- Kochi (高知) - Below Average
Kyushu-Okinawa (九州・沖縄) #
- Fukuoka (福岡) - Very High
- Saga (佐賀) - Normal
- Nagasaki (長崎) - Normal
- Kumamoto (熊本) - Normal
- Oita (大分) - Normal
- Miyazaki (宮崎) - Normal
- Kagoshima (鹿児島) - Above Average
- Okinawa (沖縄) - Normal
Geography Quiz #
If you wanted to learn where these prefectures are, Geoguessr/Seterra has you covered. If you just want to learn more about regions and prefectures, there’s always Wikipedia!