YAMAGUCHI, Jan 12 (NHK) - The New York Times has picked Yamaguchi City in western Japan as one of the "52 Places to Go in 2024."
The city is the third choice among this year's favored travel destinations, behind total solar eclipse viewpoints in North America and Paris, France.
The newspaper says Yamaguchi is often called the "Kyoto of the West", and describes it as a compact city that has considerably less "tourism pollution" than the ancient capital.
It also introduces the five-story pagoda of Rurikoji Temple, which is designated a national treasure, as well as old-fashioned coffee shops, eateries that serve "oden" and other hot pot dishes and the Yuda hot spring resort.
The paper notes that the Gion summer festival, which is smaller in scale than the one in Kyoto but nevertheless dates back 600 years, will be held in July.
Last year, Morioka City in northern Japan was The New York Times' second-favorite travel destination. This led to a surge in foreign tourists there.
