A ‘shabby’ UK city often snubbed by Brits has been given a bizarre claim to fame. Situated in West Yorkshire on the River Calder, Wakefield is a historic cathedral city known for its coal mining heritage.
With great railway links and close proximity to the unspoilt Yorkshire countryside, Wakefield is an ideal base for commuters and families alike. It’s a mere stone’s throw from the acclaimed Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield Gallery and has its eyes on bolstering tourism by becoming the UK’s sculpture capital by 2029.
And still, the city has struggled to garner a squeaky-clean reputation, potentially marred by the nearby hotspots of Harrogate and York – which have both preserved their fairytale appearance. Many Brits on social media snub the city, unable to see its full potential. However, perhaps all that is needed is a fresh perspective…
Yuna is a Japanese content creator who shot to fame after moving over to the UK – reviewing quintessential experiences like a Wetherspoon’s breakfast and Greggs sausage roll. On a recent day trip, Yuna, who has garnered a staggering 317,000 TikTok followers, left her home in Leeds to visit Wakefield, which is only 10 minutes away on the train.
“I’m super excited because I’ve never been here and it looks a little bit familiar to me,” she said. “I don’t know… Somehow the buildings look like my home city, Hokkaido.”
Yuna branded Wakefield – and its viral wine shop – as ‘super lovely’ and ‘so cute’, adding: “I absolutely love lovely places like this.” She went on to explore a ‘beautiful’ church with a ‘massive’ organ inside, stating: “I’ve never seen anything like it. Genuinely, [I’m] so impressed.”
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Hokkaido is the second-largest island in Japan and attracts swathes of visitors every year. “There are large swathes of wilderness here, with primaeval forests, tropical-blue caldera lakes, fields of alpine wildflowers and bubbling, in-the-rough hot springs,” hailed travel experts over at Lonely Planet. “In the summer, all this (plus the cooler, drier weather) draws hikers, cyclists and strollers.
Must-see attractions include Farm Tomita, a rainbow array of flowers that make for the perfect Instagram selfie, Mashū-ko – which is often touted as Japan’s most beautiful lake and Sapporo Beer Museum. Naturally, you won’t be able to find any of these in Wakefield – but you can head over to Wakey Wines for a cheap booze run.
Dozens of baffled viewers flocked to the comments section – with many saying the same thing. “Never thought I would hear Wakey compared to Hokkaido,” one person wrote.
Another agreed, commenting: “Never in human history have the words excited and Wakefield shared the same sentence until now.” A third added: “Never heard anyone call Wakefield cute before,” while a fourth penned: “You will be forever the only person in human history to compare Wakefield to Japan.”
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