Johnson, the Rugby World Cup-winning captain-turned-coach, was in Dunedin yesterday to inspect the city's training, playing and accommodation facilities ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Speaking to gathered media at Carisbrook, Johnson said it was his first visit to Dunedin and the 101-year-old test venue and spiritual home of Otago rugby.
He said he was impressed with the facilities he had seen in Dunedin and around New Zealand while travelling this week, which included stops in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.
However, he would not be drawn when asked if he would prefer his team to play its Dunedin match amid the history of Carisbrook or sheltered from the elements at the Forsyth Barr Stadium across the city.
The England team has two pool matches in Christchurch, on September 10 and 18, before travelling to Dunedin for a match with an as-yet-unconfirmed opponent on September 24.
The match had originally been allocated to Carisbrook, but would be transferred if the new Forsyth Barr Stadium was completed on time.
Johnson was aware the Dunedin venue was yet to be confirmed, but insisted: "That's fine."
He said the focus of the week's trip to New Zealand was to assess facilities and how best to structure the team's time, including travel between Christchurch and Dunedin during the tournament.
The stadiums would take care of themselves, and the England team would be happy wherever the match was played, he believed.
"They are what they are. I have never been to Carisbrook . . . but things change," he said.
Johnson and his entourage - England team media manager Richard Prescott and manager Gavin Dovey - also visited the Forsyth Barr Stadium site yesterday, and other potential Dunedin training grounds at the Caledonian and University Oval.
However, Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd team services manager Michelle Tapper, travelling with the group in New Zealand, suggested Carisbrook could be an attractive drawcard even if, as expected, it did not host a match.
"It's probably the best training venue in New Zealand because of the nature of it being a stadium," she said.
Dunedin was also hosting two other matches during the 2011 tournament - a clash between Scotland and an unconfirmed European qualifier on September 14, and Ireland versus Italy on October 2.
An announcement on teams' bases was scheduled for December 18, by which time 13 teams would have inspected New Zealand facilities and given their opinions, she said.
Ms Tapper said the England visit followed trips to Dunedin by Ireland and Scotland rugby delegations in recent months, both of which had wanted to "fly under the radar" while on rapid-fire tours of nine New Zealand centres in 36 hours.
