「今年の旅行先」に山口市　５２カ所中３番手に紹介―米紙

　【ニューヨーク時事】米紙ニューヨーク・タイムズは９日までに、「２０２４年に行くべき５２カ所」を発表し、日本から山口市を選出した。旅行先リストの３番手に挙げ、「よく『西の京都』と呼ばれるが、それよりももっと面白い」と紹介した。
　同紙は、山口市について「コンパクト」で「体験の詰め合わせ」のような街だと評価。小道を歩けば、洞春寺境内の陶芸や昔ながらの喫茶店、おでんや鍋料理の店に出会え、近くには湯田温泉があると説明した。
　国宝の瑠璃光寺五重塔も取り上げ「見事だ」と称賛。「京都は観光客でごった返しているが、山口市にも６００年続く山口祇園祭がある」とも指摘し、７月の開催だと紹介した。（2024/01/10-10:11）

The western Japan city of Yamaguchi has been selected among The New York Times' list of "52 places to go in 2024."
   The city, the capital of the namesake prefecture, "is often called the Kyoto of the West, though it's much more interesting than that," the U.S. newspaper said.
   Small winding lanes in the "compact city" with a population of about 190,000 offer "an assortment of experiences," it said, citing such places as pottery kilns, including one situated on the grounds of the Toshunji temple, "chic" and "old-style" coffee shops and "counter-only shops" that serve "oden" hot-pot dishes, as well as the Yuda Onsen hot spring area.
   The paper also praised the "stunning" five-story pagoda at the Rurikoji temple, designated as a national treasure by the Japanese government.
   "Given the tourist crush in Kyoto, Yamaguchi has also been offering a smaller scale--but no less historic--alternative to Kyoto's Gion summer festival for some 600 years," the paper said, noting that the Yamaguchi's Gion festival takes place in July, like the Kyoto festival.