Yamaguchi No.3 on New York Times list of “52 Places to Go in 2024”

The city of Yamaguchi in western Japan has been ranked third by the The New York Times on its list of 52 Places to Go in 2024. 

Capital of the prefecture of the same name, Yamaguchi City was picked up by the newspaper in particular for its “impeccable gardens” and the five-story pagoda of Rurikoji temple, a national treasure in the city’s Kozan Park. 

(Five-story pagoda of Rurikoji temple, Yamaguchi City.)

The Japanese like to celebrate top 3s, and the five-story pagoda of Rurikoji temple is considered one of the three most beautiful in the country, according to the Yamaguchi Tourism Convention Association.

With a population of around 190,000 Yamaguchi is small by comparison to Kyoto, a city to which it has long been considered an alternative dating back to the 14th to the 16th centuries, including the turbulent Sengoku period, when Yamaguchi developed into one of the most wealthy and influential cities in Japan. 

Today Yamaguchi might be considered an alternative option for travelers looking to escape the overtourism of Kyoto.

“Yamaguchi is often called the Kyoto of the West,” said the New York Times in its latest list of 52 places around the world to visit.  “Though it’s much more interesting than that - and it suffers from considerably less ‘tourism pollution,’” the paper explained. 

Experiences available at pottery kilns, “chic” and “older-style” coffee shops, and “counter-only” shops serving oden are among other Yamaguchi highlights as detailed by the paper in its list. 

The New York Times’ list of 52 Places to Go in 2024 is topped by Mexico, Canada and the 13 U.S. states which are set to fall in The Path of Totality - a total solar eclipse which the regions will be celebrating (in the dark) with a variety of events, according to the paper.

Host of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris, France, ranked second. 

Last year the northern Japanese city of Morioka ranked second in The New York Times list which was topped by London.