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A World Heritage Site, famous for its matcha tea, and the setting of the world's first full-length novel, The Tale of Genji, this little treasure of Japan has so many titles. it is Uji.
Uji is less than 20 kilometers from Kyoto and 50 kilometers from Osaka, and is easily accessible by JR. I left Kyoto early in the morning and arrived in Uji at 8am. I spent the whole day in Uji and loved this healing city so much. There is so much more than just matcha tea and so many interesting things to explore.
🤗 A matcha tea lover's favorite
The last thing you need on the streets of Uji is a tea store, and as one of the most famous teas in Japan, Uji's tea is known all over the world. Matcha lovers can rest assured that Uji's matcha drinks and desserts won't step on any toes when blindly selected.
After my visit to the Equalizer, I arrived at Nakamura Fujiyoshi (Equalizer), a very popular matcha dessert store in Uji, at 10am. This century-old store is located on the edge of the Uji River and has large floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Uji River, so you can eat your dessert while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Uji.
The matcha barfi that almost everyone orders is high in value and quite tasty. Matcha cream, white jade, basmati rice, matcha custard, red beans, chestnuts, and various ingredients are paired together for a richly layered texture.
Eating a beautiful dessert, looking out the window at the high sky and the old townhouse smelling quaint in the warm sunshine, I felt healed all of a sudden.
After walking across the Uji Bridge, I tried a second matcha store, Tomonen Tea Shop. The store was founded in 1160 and has a history of 800 years! The tea store building itself is a cultural asset of Kyoto, built in the Edo period, more than 300 years ago. Famous Japanese historical figures such as Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu have all visited the store.
When you walk into this small tea store, you can feel the history, the tables and chairs are very old. Matcha soba noodles, matcha red bean soup, and matcha ice cream are sold here, and I bought a matcha and sencha double-flavored cone for more than 300 yen, which was refreshing and had a very pure matcha flavor.
Fukujuen Uji Tea Workshop was built in 1790 and is located across the street from the Equalizer, along the Uji River. Here you can experience making handmade matcha (reservation required). Since I didn't have a reservation, I couldn't participate in the making experience, so I ordered some matcha desserts on the second floor and sat down to relax. There weren't many tourists here, and it was a pleasure to drink tea and eat dessert in peace facing the silent Uji River.
Ito Kyuemon, an old matcha store with over 300 years of history, was the 4th matcha store I hit. I purchased many matcha souvenirs here before I left Uji.
🤗 Traces of The Tale of Genji
As a huge fan of The Tale of Genji and the NHK Okaa drama To Kou no Kune, I had to go to Uji. The last ten posts of The Tale of Genji take place in Uji. The Uji mountain village is home to two beautiful people, the eldest and youngest daughters, and their story, along with their sister Ukiyo, with Kaoru-kun and Kashibei Ching-miya, is the best part of The Tale of Genji.
Uji is full of traces of The Tale of Genji. From the Equalizer, it is a few minutes walk to the bridge of Uji Bridge, where there is a statue of Shikibu. Purple Shikibu is the author of The Tale of Genji, a female writer who tells the love story of the Kougen clan and its many women during the Heian period in delicate, beautiful language. What an elegant woman was the writer who could write such a beautiful novel! The Tale of Genji had a notable impact on subsequent Japanese literature, and Yasunari Kawabata credits The Tale of Genji as a major influence.
On the other side of the Equalization Garden, there is a statue of “Uji Jubilee” and a scene of Kaoru-kun talking with the eldest daughter of the family.
The Tale of Genji Museum, themed on the Tale of Genji, exhibits Japanese costumes, items from the Heian period, and more. Even if you don't know anything about The Tale of Genji or Japanese, you'll have no problem going to the museum, as there is an English audio guide throughout.
There were two original short films that were very good, shown every half hour, and the English audio guide was synchronized and translated during the screenings.
The museum is simply beautiful during the maple season! The entrance to the museum is all glass, you can see a fiery red color from far away, behind the glass door is a large maple leaf, like a painting set in a glass frame, very beautiful.
I spent 3 hours at the museum, and the Tale of Genji museum is visited by mostly middle-aged and elderly Japanese.
🤗 Japan's National Treasures and Historic Buildings
The most famous World Heritage Site in Uji is the Equalization Institute, which was my first stop after arriving in Uji. after the doors opened at 8:30, I entered the Equalization Institute as the first wave.
The Equalizer is also associated with The Tale of Genji. The prototype of the hero of The Tale of Genji, the historical Fujiwara Michinaga, had a villa in Uji that was the Equalizer, and Fujiwara Michinaga's son, Fujiwara Yoritomo, transformed the villa into the Equalizer.
The centerpiece of the Equality House, Phoenix Hall, is a national treasure of Japan. Located in the center of a pond, Phoenix Hall, also known as Amidado Hall, is one of the few remaining Heian-era buildings in Japan. It is one of the few remaining buildings in Japan from the Heian Period. Heiken is a representative of Japan's “Jodo gardens” and is depicted on the back of the Japanese 10-yen coin.
When viewed from the front, the Phoenix Hall has the appearance of a large bird flying with its wings up. Inside the Phoenix Hall is enshrined the seated statue of Amida Nyorai, which is classified as a national treasure of Japan, along with the Buddhist temple canopy, the fifty-two cloud-supporting bodhisattvas, and the pair of bronze cast phoenixes on the roof ridge of the hall.
Some of these national treasure artifacts are housed in the Hoshokan at the Equality Institute, not the Phoenix Hall, so the Hoshokan is well worth a visit. When I was there, there was an exhibition “Jodo and the Tale of Genji” in the Hoshokan, but unfortunately, no photos were allowed in the Hoshokan, so I don't have any photos here.
On the other side of the Equalizer is Uji Shrine and Ujigami Shrine. Ujigami Shrine is very old, and its main shrine was built in the Heian Period and is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Two shrines are dedicated to the rabbit god, and the rabbit-themed Mikado and Ema are adorable.
Not far from the two shrines is an ancient temple, Koshoji. During the maple season, the Kotsuzaka Sindo Road to Koshoji Temple is lined with maple trees that look like fire, creating a beautiful tunnel of red leaves.
This temple has a Tang Dynasty style and the Ying Zhang corridor and blood patio inside the temple are the attractions. There are few tourists coming here and you can enjoy the purity alone.
🤗 Ujikawanabe dazed
The Uji River is a river that runs through the center of Uji and bisects the city. On both sides of the river are numerous historical sites and century-old stores.
The scenery of the Uji River is not amazing, but it is full of the beauty of simplicity and tranquility, which cannot be shown in photos or videos, but can only be felt by being there.
Standing on the old Uji Bridge, which was built in 646, you can watch the water of the Uji River flowing quietly, and in the distance is a blue and pure sky with white clouds hanging low. Did that beautiful woman's pontoon boat from a thousand years ago also wander along the shore?
📎 Strategy
🌆 Equalization Courtyard
Open from 8:30 to 17:30, admission to the garden is 700 yen (including the Hoshokan), and admission to the Phoenix Hall (interior) is 300 yen (20-minute groups of 50 visitors each).
🏠The Tale of Genji Museum
Open from 9:00 to 17:00, closed on Mondays. Reservations are not required. There are self-service ticket machines with language options at the entrance to the museum, and admission is 600 yen. There is a free English audio guide for rent at the entrance, which will automatically synchronize the translation during the screening of short films (remember to wear headphones). The museum is divided into Heiankan, Ujikan, Monogatari Museum, and Kenga Special Exhibition, all of which can be photographed except for the Kenga Exhibition, which cannot be photographed.
Uji Shrine and Ujigami Shrine
The two shrines are very close to each other, open 24 hours a day, and free to visit.
🔔Kojyoji Temple
Open from 9:00 to 17:00, a visit to the temple's garden is free, and worship inside the hall is 300 yen. Koshoji Temple is a famous maple viewing spot in Uji.
- Author:japan guides
- URL:https://japan-guides.com/article/diet-83
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