I know someone who actually ended up getting his first choice for placement, and his first choice was Osaka prefecture, so it seems worthwhile to put what I really want down first. If Hyogo is one of the places that usually has more open spots, that would probably make a good second choice. Thank you for your advice.

I'll probably have more questions about the process if I can get through to the interviews.

Yeah, it'd be really nice to meet up sometime. ^_^