Japan's Yamaguchi City Chosen for Swiss Tourism Award
The city of Yamaguchi in western Japan will receive a Swiss Tourism Award this year, according to an announcement from the city's mayor.
Since 2006, the Swiss Tourism Awards have been presented to locations across the world that are judged to be excellent tourist destinations. In 2023, Kyoto became the first Japanese city to win the award, and this year Yamaguchi became the second!
In a press conference on August 28, city mayor Kazuki Ito explained that, like Kyoto, Yamaguchi has been recognized for its rich cultural heritage and history.
Officials from Yamaguchi will travel to Lugano, Switzerland, to attend an award ceremony that will be held between November 1 and November 3.
They will also have a booth at the Swiss International Holiday Exhibition, where they will promote the city's attractions to travel enthusiasts and tourism organizations from all around the world.
This has been a good year for Yamaguchi, which in January was included as the third destination in The New York Times' list of "52 Places to Go in 2024."
The New York Times article noted that Yamaguchi is known as "the Kyoto of the West." But it also pointed out that Yamaguchi is much less crowded with tourists than Kyoto, and has its own competing charms, including a summer festival, similar to Kyoto's famous Gion Festival, with a history going back 600 years.
A city with a population of around 190,000, Yamaguchi is located in the far west of Japan's main island of Honshu.
Probably Yamaguchi's best known attraction is the beautiful five-story pagoda of Rurikoji Temple, which dates from the 15th century and is a national treasure.
The New York Times also mentioned the hot springs, traditional pottery, coffee shops and casual restaurants that can be found on the city's "small winding lanes."
