Ibaraki Prefecture

:Ibaraki is also a city: see Ibaraki, Osaka.

Miscellaneous topics

The prefecture is often mispronounced "Ibaragi". However, the correct pronunciation is "Ibaraki." According to the author of "Not Ibaragi, Ibaraki" (????????????? ibaragi ja nakute ibaraki) http://www.excite.co.jp/News/bit/00091111474553.html, this is most likely due to a mishearing of the softening of the 'k' sound in Ibaraki dialect. It is mispronounced to such a degree that it has nearly become standard. (also see nucular)

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It is also sometimes jokingly referred as part of "Chibaragi", a combination of Chiba, Ibaraki, and Tochigi together. (From a Tokyo metropolitan point of view, all three are sometimes disparagingly considered to be nondescript suburbs or empty countryside, thus indistinguishable.) Similarly, Tokyo suburbs Gunma and Saitama are jokingly called "Guntama".

Related Topics:
Chiba - Tochigi - Tokyo - Gunma - Saitama

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