Homes.co.jp has compiled lists of the top 20 most desirable areas to live in 2011 according to client inquiries (not numbers of people actually buying property and moving into the areas). Based on public transport hubs such as train stations, the area around Hiroshima Station, which is slowly being covered with shiny, and increasingly tall, new buildings, came out top of the Chugoku region rankings.

Here is the full list

1. Hiroshima Station
2. Tokaichi, Hiroshima
3. Tenma River, Hiroshima
4. Kurashiki, Okayama
5. Takanobashi, Hiroshima
6. Funairi, Hiroshima
7. Kitanagase, Okayama
8. Yokogawa, Hiroshima
9. Fukuyama, Hiroshima
10. Omoto, Okayama
11. Izumo, Simane
12. Chuden-mae, Hiroshima
13. Takashima, Okayama
14. Saijo, Hiroshima
15. Nishigawara, Okayama
16. Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi
17. Imabari, Ehime
18. Matsue, Shimane
19. Nakasho, Okayama
20. Honkawa, Hiroshima

Where is your top spot?

You can see lists for all the regions in Japanese here.

Via local Japanese news blog Tabetainjya.