Japan may not be that big on a world map, but there’s a surprising number of distinct regional cultures you’ll find as you make your way from one end of the country to another. Sometimes, taking the train just a few hours in one direction will put you in a spot where people eat different foods, celebrate holidays on different days, or even talk differently from where you just came from.

So, just to be prepared to communicate as effectively as possible with the locals, you might want to take a few minutes to review these videos of women saying “I love you” in the dialects of each of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

The video collection comes from cosmetics maker Shiseido. Titled Kokuhaku Makeup Collection (Declaration of Love Makeup Collection), the series celebrates Japan’s regional linguistic beauty with a team of regional female beauties.

One by one, the area’s representatives appear onscreen, first without makeup, and then wearing Shiseido cosmetics. Each relays a brief message, peppered with as many local speech patterns as they can fit in, before declaring, “I love you.” While many of the ladies step up to the camera to open their heart to a boyfriend or husband, the theme of love is definitely broader than just the romantic kind, as the woman from Wakayama addresses her grandma, the woman from Saitama speaks to her dog, and the woman from Mie is here to talk about her belly dancing classmates.

So while the textbook version of “I love you” may be daisuki, we find out that’s just one of the many, many ways to express your feelings in Japanese. The others are:

Toyama: Suki ya cha

Yamagata: Honten daisuki da kan na

Fukushima: Suki da

Aomori: Tange da ba daisuki da yo

Fukui: Daisuki ya za

Hokkaido: Namara suki dassho

Iwate: Zutto daisugi da sukai

Akita: Suttage suki da

Ishikawa: Suki ya yo

Miyagi: Suki desu

Tokyo: Daisuki

Nagano: Daisuki da yo

Niigata: Daisuki da kan na

Saitama: Eree suki nan yo

Gunma: Nakkara daisuki nan sa ne

Ibaraki: Daisuki de shaanme

Yamanashi: Daisukkitsukon

Tochigi: Honto daisuki da yo

Chiba: Daisuki

Kanagawa: Daisuki

Aichi: Dera suki ya ni

Shizuoka: Bakka suki da

Hyogo: Meccha suki ya de

Osaka: Meccha daisuki ya de

Nara: Honma ni suki ya de

Shiga: Daisuki ya de

Gifu: Meccha suki ya yo

Kyoto: Honma ni suki ya de

Mie: Meccha suki ya de

Wakayama: Meccha suki ya de

Hiroshima: Bari daisuki jake

Tottori: Meccha suki

Tokushima: Honma ni daisuki ya ken

Kochi: Kojanto suki yaki

Ehime: Daisuki yakken

Kagawa: Suitoru ken

Shimane: Daisuki da ken

Yamaguchi: Buchi suki jakee

Okayama: Deeree suki jaken

Kumamoto: Daisuki bai

Okinawa: Deeji daisuki saa

Fukuoka: Bari suitoo yo

Miyazaki: Tege suki yaccha ken

Kagoshima: Wazzee sujjadoo

Nagasaki: Suki bai

Saga: Gabai suitoo yo

Oita: Zutto zutto daisuki bai

Now you’re all set to love and be loved, wherever you go in Japan.

Source: Japaaan

Top image: YouTube (1, 2, 3) (edited by RocketNews24)

Insert images: YouTube (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)