A lot of interest has been generated by the New York Times’ selection of the “Top 52 Cities to Visit in the World” for 2023.
Iwate Prefecture’s Morioka and Fukuoka Prefecture’s Fukuoka placed second and nineteenth, respectively, on the list.
In the 20th century, the city of Morioka was described by the New York Times as “a gem that is far from the hustle and bustle of the city, but within easy reach”, as local workers combined Western and traditional Japanese architectural aesthetics to create the avant-garde Japanese-Western style architecture that made Morioka famous.
Built on the site of Morioka Castle, Morioka Castle Ruins Park was chosen in 1989 as one of the top 100 parks in Japan. Due to its outstanding natural beauty and distinctive culture, Morioka came in second in this rating, behind London, England.
The text also includes Wanko Soba, a specialty of Iwate. This is a little bowl of one-bite soba, and the waiter will keep filling the bowl with soba until the client covers it with his hand.
The largest city in Kyushu, Fukuoka, is one of the few in Japan to still practice the ancient Yatai culture. The term “yatai culture” describes the open-air street food kiosks where a variety of foods, including Japanese ramen, sashimi (grilled chicken skewers), Kanto, coffee, and alcoholic beverages, are sold for people to enjoy. Mentaiko and Tonkotsu ramen both originated in Fukuoka, and the city’s distinctive culinary tradition has gained recognition on a global scale.
The complete ranking is as follows
1. London, United Kingdom
2. Morioka, Japan
3. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, USA
4. Kilmartin Glen, Scotland
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Palm Springs, California
7. Kangaroo Island, Australia
8. Vjosa River, Albania
9. Accra, Ghana
10. Tromso, Norway
11. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
12. Bhutan
13. Kerala, India
14. Greenville, South Carolina
15. Tucson, Arizona
16. Martinique
17. The Namib Desert, Southern Africa
18. The Alaska Railroad
19. Fukuoka, Japan
20. Flores Island, Indonesia Flores, Indonesia
21. Guadalajara, Mexico
22. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria
23. Kakheti, Georgia
24. Nîmes, France
25. Ha Giang, Vietnam
26. Salalah, Oman
27. Cuba
28. Odense, Denmark
29. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia
30. Boquete, Panama
31. Tarragona, Spain
32. Charleston, South Carolina
33. Cayos Cochinos, Honduras
34. Burgundy Beer Trail, France
35. Istanbul
36. Taipei, Taiwan
37. El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia
38. Lausanne, Switzerland
39. Methana, Greece
40. Louisville, Kentucky
41. Manaus, Brazil
42. Vilnius, Lithuania
43. Macon, Georgia
44. Madrid
45. Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction, Colorado
46. La Guajira, Colombia
47. Bergamo and Brescia, Italy
48. American Prairie, Montana
49. Eastern Townships, Quebec Eastern Townships, Quebec
50. New Haven, Connecticut
51. The Black Hills, South Dakota
52. Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Herzegovina
