Uji, Kyoto
Two Banks and a Canal
The quiet bank first, the famous one after — starting at a riverside flower garden that costs nothing, finishing among white storehouses on a canal, where three glasses come with the entry.
5 stops · one day
The route
- 01
Kyoto south · Uji · From Kyoto Stn · ~35 min · Better early
Eshin-in
A free flower garden by the river, a few minutes from famous Byodoin but almost empty.
What to look for
- Temple approach and gate — the short slope leading up from the riverbank to the temple entrance
- Seasonal flower garden — grounds planted for bloom through most of the year — kerria, hydrangea, trumpet vine
- Uji riverside setting — a quiet hillside by the Uji River, with Byodoin within easy walking reach
- 02
Uji · South Kyoto Pref. · From Kyoto Stn · ~30 min
Ujigami Shrine
Japan's oldest shrine building — the Heian-period main hall stands free to enter, quietly set in its wooded hillside above the Uji River.
What to look for
- Honden (main hall) — three inner shrines under one cypress-bark roof; dated to around 1060 — Japan's oldest extant shrine building; National Treasure
- Haiden (worship hall) — the front reception hall, Kamakura-period construction, also a National Treasure
- Kiri-no-Shimizu spring — a natural spring inside the precinct, one of the 'seven springs of Uji'; water from it was historically used in the tea ceremony
- 03
Uji · south Kyoto Pref. · From Kyoto Stn · ~20 min
Uji's matcha street
160 metres of Uji tea, roasted at the roadside — the only street in Japan on a national list for how it smells.
What to look for
- The 160 m of the approach street — tea merchants, tea rooms and dessert counters end to end, with the roasting smell that got the street onto a national list
- Tsuen at the Uji Bridge — a tea house that dates its founding to 1160, still sitting where the road meets the river
- Matcha desserts — parfaits, soft serve and matcha soba, made with tea ground on site rather than shipped in as flavouring
- 04
Uji · South Kyoto Pref. · From Kyoto Stn · ~17 min
Byodo-in
Japan's most iconic Heian temple — the 10-yen coin building, reflected in its own pond, and one of the oldest Buddha statues you can see up close.
What to look for
- The pond and hall approach — the path from the main gate circles the pond — the reflection of the Phoenix Hall in the still water is the signature view
- Phoenix Hall (Hoodo) — the 1053 structure on the small island; interior visits are on a timed-entry system with a separate ticket, capacity 50 per slot
- Amida Nyorai statue — the gilded seated Amida Buddha inside the hall, carved by sculptor Jocho around 1053 — a National Treasure of Japan
- 05
Fushimi · south Kyoto City · From Kyoto Stn · ~25 min
Fushimi's sake quarter
A 1637 brewery, a 1909 brewhouse, 400 city-designated tools and three glasses at the end — sake explained before it is poured.
What to look for
- The Okura Sake Museum building — a brewhouse built in 1909 and converted for display, rather than a purpose-built museum
- The designated brewing tools — around 400 pieces on show from the 6,120 that Kyoto City designated in 1985 — wooden vats, casks and kai paddles
- The tasting counter — three sake, chosen from roughly ten that change with the season, included with admission