a trip in trance 3

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[ HIB 10172] 2004 A Trip In Trance 3 ( CD)

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A Trip in Trance, Vol. 3

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Trip in Trance 3 by Trip in Trance (2004) Audio CD

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AAA Newsroom

Automotive, Travel, and Traffic Safety Information

Nearly 44 Million Travelers Leaving Town for Unofficial Start of Summer

Second highest memorial day holiday travel forecast since aaa began tracking in 2000.

WASHINGTON, DC (May 13, 2024) – AAA projects 43.8 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Memorial Day holiday travel period*. This year’s total number of travelers is a 4% increase over last year and comes close to matching 2005’s record of 44 million Memorial Day travelers.  

“We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel. “We’re projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we’re exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead.”   

Road trips are expected to set a record. AAA projects 38.4 million people will travel by car over Memorial Day weekend, the highest number for that holiday since AAA began tracking in 2000. The number of drivers this year is up 4% compared to last year and 1.9% higher than in 2019. Traveling by car is appealing for many people because of the convenience and flexibility it provides. AAA car rental partner Hertz says Orlando, Denver, Atlanta, Boston and Las Vegas are the cities displaying the highest rental demand , with the busiest pick-up days projected to be Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24.  

This Memorial Day weekend drivers can expect similar gas prices as last year when the national average was roughly $3.57.  Pump prices rose this spring but have held somewhat steady in recent weeks. Prices may creep higher as the summer driving season gets underway. The wildcard remains the cost of oil, and unlike last year, there are now two wars – in the Middle East and Ukraine – that could roil the oil market.  

Airports are bracing for a spike in travelers. AAA expects 3.51 million air travelers this holiday weekend, an increase of 4.8% over last year and 9% jump compared to 2019. This will be the most crowded Memorial Day weekend at airports since 2005, when 3.64 million flew for the holiday as the travel industry finally rebounded post 9/11. This Memorial Day weekend, air ticket prices are comparable to last year. AAA booking data shows a 1% to 2% increase in prices for domestic flights. Several factors play into how much travelers pay for airfare, including destination, number of stops, and fare class. For example, passengers who book nonstop flights with seat selection and carry-on bags included will likely pay more than those who select basic economy with a layover.  

  Nearly two million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including buses, cruises, and trains. AAA projects 1.9 million people will take these other modes of transportation, an increase of 5.6% compared to last year. “This category took the biggest hit during the pandemic with fewer people taking public transportation or not cruising at all,” Twidale said. “Now – five years later – we’re back to 2019 numbers. Travel demand has been soaring, and long holiday weekends create the perfect windows for getaways.”  

Best/Worst Times to Drive and Peak Congestion by Metro 

INRIX , a provider of transportation data and insights, says drivers leaving Thursday or Friday should hit the road early to avoid mixing with commuters. Travelers going back home on Sunday or Monday should avoid the afternoon hours when return trips will peak.   

“Travel times are expected to be up to 90% longer than normal. Travelers should stay up to date on traffic apps, 511 services, and local news stations to avoid sitting in traffic longer than necessary,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX.  

Please note that the times listed below are for the time zone in which the metro is located.   

For example, Atlanta routes = ET and Los Angeles routes = PT

Source: INRIX   

Source: INRIX  

Top Destinations 

This Memorial Day weekend, travelers are seeking theme parks and entertainment venues in Orlando, New York, Las Vegas, and Southern California. Seattle, Anchorage, and Vancouver rank high because of the popularity of Alaska cruises this time of year. Florida beaches and cruise ports will also be packed. European cities dominate the international list. The top 10 domestic and international destinations below are based on AAA booking data.  

Travel Trends   

As travelers make plans for summer and beyond, AAA Travel has identified the following trends:  

• Bucket Lists : Travelers taking once-in-a-lifetime trips  
• Milestones : Families booking anniversary, retirement, and family reunion trips  
• Asia : More travelers interested in visiting Asia, especially Japan   
• Solo Trips : More people, especially women, interested in traveling by themselves  
• Luxury Vacations : More travelers seeking high-end cruises and tours  
• Trains : Many travelers interested in rail vacations across New England, Canada, and Europe  
• Adventure in Nature : Travelers booking trips to Antarctica, Africa, and South Pacific  

  Travel Agent Survey  

A recent survey of AAA travel agents highlights topics travelers are frequently discussing when booking trips:  

• Travel Insurance : 51 % of agents say more travelers are interested in protecting their trips  
• 77% of agents say ocean cruises  
• 70% of agents say all-inclusive vacations  
• 67% of agents say river cruises  

Holiday Travel Forecast Methodology   

In cooperation with AAA, S&P Global Market Intelligence (SPGMI) developed a unique methodology to forecast actual domestic travel volumes. The economic variables used to forecast travel for the current holiday are leveraged from SPGMI’s proprietary databases. These data include macroeconomic drivers such as employment, output, household net worth, asset prices, including stock indices, interest rates, housing market indicators, and variables related to travel and tourism, including gasoline prices, airline travel, and hotel stays. AAA and SPGMI have quantified holiday travel volumes going back to 2000.   

Historical travel volume estimates come from DK SHIFFLET’s TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/Monitor SM . The PERFORMANCE/Monitor SM is a comprehensive study measuring the travel behavior of U.S. residents. DK SHIFFLET contacts over 50,000 U.S. households each month to obtain detailed travel data, resulting in the unique ability to estimate visitor volume and spending, identify trends, and forecast U.S. travel behavior, all after the trips have been taken.  

The travel forecast is reported in person-trips. In particular, AAA and SPGMI forecast the total U.S. holiday travel volume and expected mode of transportation. The travel forecast presented in this report was prepared the week of April 15, 2024.   

*Memorial Day Holiday Travel Period   

For this forecast, the Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as the five-day period from Thursday, May 23 to Monday, May 27, 2024.   

AAA Travel Agent Survey Methodology 

AAA clubs distributed surveys to a random sample of their travel agents between March 18 and March 29, 2024 to understand recent traveler trends over the past 60 days. 186 AAA agent responses were collected from 13 AAA clubs (representing 97% of AAA membership overall as of February 2024).  

About AAA    

Started in 1902 by automotive enthusiasts who wanted to chart a path for better roads in America and advocate for safe mobility, AAA has transformed into one of North America’s largest membership organizations. Today, AAA provides roadside assistance, travel, discounts, financial and insurance services to enhance the life journey of 64 million members across North America, including 57 million in the United States. To learn more about all AAA has to offer or to become a member, visit AAA.com.   

About S&P Global   S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses, and individuals with the right data, expertise, and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges, and accelerate progress for the world. We are widely sought after by many of the world’s leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world’s leading organizations plan for tomorrow today. For more information, visit  www.spglobal.com .   

About DKSA    

DK SHIFFLET boasts the industry’s most complete database on U.S. resident travel both in the U.S. and worldwide. Data is collected monthly from a U.S. representative sample, adding over 60,000 traveling households annually, and is used daily by leading travel organizations and their strategic planning groups. DK SHIFFLET is an MMGY Global company.   

About INRIX     

Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered intelligent mobility solutions by transforming big data from connected devices and vehicles into mobility insights. This revolutionary approach enabled INRIX to become one of the leading providers of data and analytics into how people move. By empowering cities, businesses, and people with valuable insights, INRIX is helping to make the world smarter, safer, and greener. With partners and solutions spanning across the entire mobility ecosystem, INRIX is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology and transportation – whether it’s keeping road users safe, improving traffic signal timing to reduce delay and greenhouse gasses, optimizing last mile delivery, or helping uncover market insights. Learn more at INRIX.com.   

Aegis Sports | Fallston girls lacrosse beats Perryville, 15-7,…

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Aegis sports | preakness 2024: seize the grey goes wire-to-wire, outruns mystik dan in 149th running, aegis sports, aegis sports | fallston girls lacrosse beats perryville, 15-7, earns fourth straight trip to 1a state final: ‘we’re ready to win’.

The Cougars, Class 1A runners-up in each of the past three years, earned a return trip to the state title game with a 15-7 victory over Perryville on Friday in a 1A state semifinal at Wheaton High.

Fallston will face either Southern or Middletown at Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium at a day and time to be announced.

“The group that we have is not just strong fundamentally, they are strong mentally,” Fallston coach Maddie Palko said. “They’ve got team chemistry that is solid and I think that is hopefully help us with our outcome.”

The Fallston seniors have made that trip three times, and each time fell shot. But you can see in the determined eyes of players such as Delaney O’Mailey, Ava Lambros or Ayla Galloway that they believe that this team is too good and this class is too talented to leave a legacy of so close, yet so far.

They believe in their hearts that they are champions and will not settle for anything less this time around.

“All the years past we’ve been building up to this point,” O’Mailey said. “We have a really good group of girls and everyone really wants it. I can feel that this year with our energy.”

Every tough practice, every challenging game has set up the Cougars seniors in a spot where they’re battle-tested headed into the final game of their high school careers.

“We’ve honestly worked our entire season up for this moment,” Lambros added. “Starting even last game being tied and scoring to make it 8-7, we’ve given everything to be here, playing harder teams and losing tough games, but that honestly made us better and we’re in the best position we’ve ever been for a state championship game.”

While their 8-7 quarterfinal victory over South Carroll was a showcase of their never-say-die spirit, Friday’s win over the Panthers was evidence of the pure talent Fallston possesses that can simply overwhelm opponents.

O’Mailey scored her first two goals before many had a chance to take their seats, coming in a 1:11 span. Sydney Grafton followed to make it 3-0 not even four minutes into the game.

“We wanted to come out hard. We wanted to play Fallston lacrosse start to finish,” Palko said. “We were able to capitalize on some 50-50 balls and we were able to get some really good shots and we’re really happy with the outcome.”

But even that spurt carried a message.

“It set the tone that we’re here, we’re ready, we really want this to be our year,” O’Mailey said.

Lambros added two goals, Galloway chipped in one and it was 6-1 by the end of the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the defense played what O’Mailey called “probably our best game on defense this year.” Erin-Kate Roeder made 10 stops in goal, and several caused turnovers and ground balls quickly became scoring opportunities.

“They’ve been doing really well, jelling a ton,” Palko said of the defense. “EK did huge back there for us, had a lot of really good stops.”

Lambros led the win with five goals. Her fifth, which came in the third quarter, was also the 200th of her career.

“I knew I was close but I didn’t really know how far — well yeah I guess I did know how far —  but I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Lambros said. “It was a really nice moment to share with the team, because I couldn’t have done this without them.”

Fallston’s lead grew to 13-3 midway through the third quarter, triggering the running clock. Perryville struck back for a few fourth-quarter goals, but all eyes on that point were already on the championship.

“We’re ready to win,” Lambros said. “We’re ready to give it our all. We’ve worked so hard and we’re not going to give it up for the fourth time. We’re ready.”

Fallston — 6 2 5 2 — 15

Perryville — 1 1 2 3 — 7

GOALS: F — Ava Lambros 5, Delaney O’Mailey 3, Sydney Grafton 2, Elise Buckler 2, Ayla Galloway 1, Laurel Haun 1, Camryn Dauphinais 1. P — Sarah Murrell 5, Sarah Kilby 1, Macy Forrest. ASSISTS: F — Sydney Grafton 3, Delaney O’Mailey 2, Olivia Parker 2, Ayla Galloway 1. SAVES: F — Erin-Kate Roeder 10. P — Samantha Peterson 6

More in Aegis Sports

Aegis Sports | John Carroll softball gets revenge over Spalding, 6-3, to win IAAM A championship: ‘It was our turn’

Aegis Sports | Fallston boys lacrosse going back to 1A state championship game after 10-3 win over Smithsburg

High School Sports | Marriotts Ridge girls lacrosse earns state semifinal spot with 13-7 win over Bel Air

Aegis Sports | Ava Lambros, Ayla Galloway team up on winner as Fallston girls lacrosse edges South Carroll, 8-7

A record 3.6 million Texans expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend, AAA says

Millions of Americans are preparing to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend . 

Here's what to know if you're traveling this holiday:

Texans ready to travel for the Memorial Day weekend

According to AAA, Texas is projected to see 3.6 million travelers this Memorial Day holiday, marking a 4.2% increase from last year. Nationally, 43.8 million people are expected to travel for Memorial Day, reflecting a 4.1% rise from the previous year and nearly reaching the 2005 record of 44 million travelers.

Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said people are eager to travel this season. 

“We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” she said. “We’re projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we’re exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead.”   

Top destinations for Texans during Memorial Day weekend

According to AAA Texas travel advisors , the top road trip destinations in Texas include:

• Corpus Christi
• San Antonio River Walk
• Fredericksburg
• Texas Hill Country
• Various state parks

How many people are expected to travel by car vs airplane?

Airports are gearing up for a surge in travelers as AAA forecasts 3.51 million air passengers for this holiday weekend, marking a 4.8% rise from last year and a 9% increase compared to 2019. Despite this uptick, air ticket prices remain on par with last year's rates for Memorial Day weekend.

Various factors influence the cost of airfare, such as destination, number of layovers, and fare class. For instance, passengers opting for nonstop flights with amenities like seat selection and carry-on bags can expect to pay more compared to those choosing basic economy with a layover.

How much does gas cost in Texas? 

Over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, motorists should anticipate gas prices akin to those of the previous year, hovering around the national average of approximately $3.60.

According to AAA, Texas’ average gas price is $3.17, up from $3.08 last year.  

More: Gas prices drop in Texas ahead of record-setting Memorial Day weekend travel, AAA says

AAA’s best time to travel during Memorial Day weekend

• May 23: Before 11 a.m., after 7 p.m. 
• May 24: Before 11 a.m., after 8 p.m.
• May 25: Before 1 p.m., after 6 p.m.
• May 26: Before 1 p.m. 
• May 27: After 7 p.m. 

AAA’s worst time to travel during Memorial Day weekend

• May 23: 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.
• May 24: 12:00 – 7:00 p.m.
• May 25: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
• May 26: 3:00 – 7:00 p.m.  
• May 27: 3:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Travel tips for Texans

AAA recommends to do the following before traveling by road:

• Inspect vehicle tires, battery, and fluid levels before a long road trip. Nationwide, AAA expects to rescue more than 378,000 stranded drivers at the roadside, including nearly 20,000 in Texas.
• Pack food, water, an emergency kit, first-aid kit, and mobile phone charger in case you break down.
• Book summer travel now. High demand and reduced schedules will mean fewer options.
• Map out your journey in advance and familiarize yourself with alternative routes in case of traffic or road closures.
• Always wear your seatbelt, follow speed limits, and avoid distractions like texting while driving.

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Now One Fast Train From Tokyo: Culture, Crafts and Hot Springs

A new high-speed train stop unlocks Kaga, a destination for onsen, nourishing food and traditional crafts, as an easy-to-reach getaway from Japan’s capital.

A riverside cafe pops up from spring through fall on the Kakusenkei gorge in Yamanaka. Credit... Andrew Faulk for The New York Times

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By Hannah Kirshner

Hannah Kirshner lives in Yamanaka, Japan, and wrote a book about the people crafting and cultivating the town’s culture, including sake brewers, woodworkers and foragers.

• May 17, 2024

At the southwest corner of Ishikawa, a verdant prefecture hugging the Sea of Japan, traditional craftsmanship thrives alongside contemporary art and architecture in the small towns that make up Kaga City.

Three of these towns — Katayamazu Onsen, Yamashiro Onsen and Yamanaka Onsen — are famous for their onsen, or hot springs. In centuries past, monks and merchant seamen made pilgrimages to these restorative waters. The 17th-century haiku master Matsuo Basho even penned two poems during a visit.

Japanese tourists still flock to Kaga’s onsen towns every fall, when the leaves turn fiery and snow crab is in season. But few foreigners find their way here, in part because the journey from Tokyo has not been easy.

That changed in March. A new extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the high-speed train that rockets passengers from Tokyo to this region, now includes a stop at Kagaonsen station. The trip takes less than three hours on a single train.

When I first came to Kaga in 2015, the journey took two trains and nearly four hours from Tokyo. There was little English signage at the station and Google Maps didn’t yet list the (infrequent) local buses.

I had come to apprentice at a bar in Yamanaka, where I met people who craft wooden bowls, brew sake and make paper from mountain shrubs. Enchanted, I returned to write a book about how their work weaves into the vibrant local culture and community; by the time it was published, Yamanaka had become my home.

I set out earlier this year to be a tourist in my adopted home, looking for places that express the unique character of each of Kaga’s three onsen towns.

Katayamazu: Where retro meets modern

In Kaga, public bath houses (segregated by gender) are so ingrained in daily life that many homes were built without a shower or bath. I lived for a time in such an apartment, enjoying the daily ritual of showering among the softly echoing voices of neighbors and soaking in a communal pool of onsen water shrouded in steam.

Katayamazu , a fading red-light district, is the least traditional of Kaga’s onsen towns. Its public bathhouse, a glass and steel box, gleams along the edge of Shibayama Lagoon. The building was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi — the architect of New York’s Museum of Modern Art expansion — as part of a revitalization effort. It stands in contrast to Katayamazu’s dated hotels and shuttered shops, remnants of an exuberant domestic tourism boom from the ’60s through the ’80s, followed by decades of economic stagnation .

I frequent the bathhouse on odd-numbered days, when women get to bathe on the side overlooking the lagoon. In winter, it’s possible to spot migratory Mandarin ducks gliding across the reflection of snow-capped Mt. Haku, the tallest peak in Ishikawa. A cafe upstairs overlooks the same panorama, but I prefer the coffee across the street at Mie Coffee , served in local pottery. (Like many small businesses here, they take irregular holidays, so check their Instagram for hours.)

I stayed one night at Besso , a spare but cozy inn converted from a massage parlor, and walked along silent streets to a bar called Kikko , a 1970s time capsule with stained glass windows draped in red velvet, jazz and soul albums decorating the walls and a record player in the corner. The barman, 85-year-old Tokio Kameya, jokes that “even I am retro now.”

A group of amateur sumo wrestlers were wrapping up a karaoke party as I sat down. Kameya-san poured me a Japanese whiskey over perfectly clear ice and played a bossa nova record as he tidied up. He told me his bar caters to locals (it is cash only, no written menu, and no English spoken) and he doesn’t think Katayamazu has much to offer tourists. But to me the town’s charm is its anachronistic mix of modernity and kitsch.

Yamashiro: A meditation on art and fish

Onsen go hand in hand with ryokan, Japanese inns where guests luxuriate over elaborate seasonal meals and soak in mineral-rich baths. On my birthday in January, as snow blanketed Yamashiro, I checked into Beniya Mukayu , a 16-room ryokan tucked into the woods.

Guests who stay at least two nights can book experiences with artisans — making paper, shaping Japanese sweets or roasting tea — but I would happily spend days of quiet contemplation in the ryokan’s communal spaces. I hardly saw anyone as I soaked in a hinoki-wood onsen that frames a vignette of swaying bamboo, its rustling leaves harmonizing with the sound of running water.

On a map of the garden’s 13 varieties of moss, I recognized the spare typography of the designer and thinker Kenya Hara (best known as the art director of Muji, the Japanese retailer). Beniya Mukayu’s owners, Sachiko and Kazunari Nakamichi, share with Hara a decades-long friendship and exploration of minimalist Japanese aesthetics.

Later, while other guests trickled into the ryokan’s dining room for crab shabu shabu and duck hot pot, I stalled in the entryway, mesmerized by Hara’s kinetic sculpture on permanent display. Beads of water spun across a white lotus-like disc and disappeared into a small black hole described as a ho-sun, a Zen term referring to one’s mind.

In Yamashiro’s town center, I followed the trail of another artist, Kitaoji Rosanjin , a sought-after engraver and calligrapher who came to Yamashiro to study ceramics in 1915 (his pottery is now in collections around the world). I visited a cottage called Iroha Souan , where Rosanjin stayed and carved signboards for several nearby ryokan; guests of Araya Totoan can view his work, including a painting of a crow composed of loose brush strokes, in the ryokan’s lobby.

Next, I took a dip at Kosoyu , a bathhouse rebuilt to look as it did during Rosanjin’s time. Sunlight poured through stained glass onto Kutaniyaki tiles, Kaga’s style of brightly painted porcelain. (Kosoyu is for soaking only, so it’s best to arrive freshly bathed; there are showers at Yamashiro’s main public onsen across the street.)

Rosanjin was known as a gourmand as much as an artist — he became the creative force behind an exclusive restaurant , pairing ceramics and food — and he was said to have enjoyed the exceptional freshness and variety of ingredients in Kaga. These days, tourists and locals line up for unpretentious 2,000-yen lunch sets (they could easily cost five times as much in Tokyo) at Ippei Sushi . On a recent Friday, the chef, Yukio Nimaida, showed me three kinds of local prawns he’d sourced early that morning. The rice he uses, a bouncy sweet cultivar called Koshihikari, grows nearby in paddies fed by clean mountain water.

I asked Nimaida-san what he hopes visitors to Kaga will experience. “Hot springs and fish,” he said. “That’s all you need, isn’t it?”

Yamanaka: A pathway through woodlands and lacquerware

With Kiku no Yu public bathhouse at its heart, Yamanaka’s downtown stretches along one side of the Kakusenkei gorge. On the other side, a peaceful walking path meanders beside the icy aquamarine river; I walk there often, especially in spring, when wildflowers emerge from lush tufts of moss.

Yamanaka is also known for wooden tableware and teaware finished with lacquer made from the sap of urushi trees. The best of this lacquerware is not for sale in the souvenir shops along the main street but is on display in small museums and in service at tearooms, bars and ryokan.

One such place is Mugen-an , a house-turned-museum near the south end of the Kakusenkei walking path. Its shoin-style architecture — including paper doors decorated with gold and rare spalted persimmon-wood railings, naturally streaked with black — reflects the status of its original residents, a former high-ranking samurai family.

In early May, I brought friends from New York to Mugen-an to sip matcha — the same bright green as the new maple leaves outside — and admire displays of tea ceremony utensils decorated in maki-e, lacquer illustrations dusted with precious minerals.

A scenic hinoki-wood bridge, Korogi-bashi, leads back toward town. Up a steep stone-paved side street next to a shrine is Washu Bar Engawa (the bar I apprenticed at when I first came to Yamanaka), where sake and food are served in an exquisite collection of local lacquerware and antique pottery. Last time I stopped by, I drank from an elegant horse chestnut cup made by the craftsman Takehito Nakajima specifically to suit the local sake, Shishi no Sato . On any given night, there’s a good chance of running into a few craftsmen at the bar.

It’s not easy for tourists to access craftspeople’s studios, but at Urushi-za , a lacquerware showroom, visitors can make an appointment to tour the attached training institute — where students learn every step from forging their own tools to applying maki-e — and even try shaping a bowl by applying a sharp gouge to a fast-spinning piece of wood on Yamanaka’s unique style of lathe.

The most immersive experience of Yamanaka’s distinct culture is a stay at one of its high-end ryokan, like Kayotei , where the owner, Masanori Kamiguchi, has spent decades cultivating appreciation of local crafts and ecology among his guests. Across the street, the young proprietors of Hanamurasaki ryokan, Kohei and Manami Yamada, pursue a similar vision. And visitors don’t have to stay overnight to reserve afternoon tea in their sabo, a tearoom designed by the Tokyo-based restaurateur and designer Shinichiro Ogata to feature locally quarried stone and Japanese paper, along with teaware in shades of charcoal and porcelain.

“I believe that in order to pass down something traditional it has to fit into modern life,” Kohei-san told me. Manami-san added: “Ryokans have always been cultural salons.” This kind of hospitality encourages patronage of local crafts, and brings new people and ideas to small towns. Visitors who come on the extended Hokuriku Shinkansen can be part of that legacy, helping Yamanaka, Yamashiro and Katayamazu thrive.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

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