[kawaiineko]

My boyfriend and I plan to move to Japan permanently (it will not be for years; how many years until we move I don't know). I'm trying to learn Japanese so I can communicate with them in their native tongue and I can understand what they're saying. Learning Japanese and communication will be difficult because of the language barrier, and because even when I move to Japan (even though I have years to prepare with learning Japanese before I leave) I'll still only be semi-fluent in it.

That said I really don't want to move to a very rural place in Japan, because that will exacerbate an already daunting task. I have heard southern Japan has a very rural dialect that is very different from "standard Japanese". We would like to move to place where there is much natural beauty and nature surrounding us. Essentially we would like to live in Northwest or northeast Japan. Help with this would be appreciated.

We've already looked at some cities/prefectures in northeast Japan which look very promising. However I would like to look at some cities/prefectures located in Northwest Japan just to keep our options open. Please don't give cities that are located near southern Japan (read what I said above please; it explains quite clearly why)

If somebody could give me some cities located in Northwest Japan, that would help

ありがとう　ございます