Uji
I ❤ tea! Whenever we visit Kyoto, I always try to arrange a half-day trip to Uji if time allows. The city of Uji is well-known for its premium quality Japanese green tea (Macha) and is one of the 3 major tea growing regions in Japan.
Uji is located in the southern part of the Kyoto prefecture. It takes approximately 30 minutes from Kyoto by train.
Not far away from Uji station is Nakamura Tokichi Honten – 中村籐吉本店, one of the most popular tea café in town. Established since the end of the Edo era, Nakamura Tokichi has been around for 160 years; famous for not only their tea but also their so-delicious tea-flavored desserts.
Last time we were here, we had to wait for almost an hour to be seated (but it was worth it!!!). This time we got here by late afternoon and the place was still busy, but luckily there was no wait.
You can’t go wrong with any desserts on the menu, but the Macha Tea Jelly –抹茶生茶ゼリ is the best!
February was off-peak tourist season with very few tourists so we really got to enjoy the town’s laid-back atmosphere in a leisurely pace.
For us, February is one of the best time to visit Japan because things are quiet and uncrowded during the month. Not to mentioned that winter is the driest season in Japan, so frequent clear and sunny days can be expected. In fact, February is the coldest month of the year in many parts of Japan. The average temperature in Kyoto/Uji is around 2°C to 10°C. So I had hesitation on whether my little one could handle such chilly weather. It turned out that Stephanie is a TRUE winter baby – she actually quite enjoyed the cold weather (and she was born in the winter).
Uji is known not only for its high quality tea, but is known for its old historic sites. Among one of the most famous is the Ujigami Shrine – 宇治上神社, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ujigami Shrine is located behind the a quiet residential area, approximately 15 minutes walk from the Uji Station. It was a nice walk through the neighborhoods to get there.
Ujigami Shrine’s inner Shrine – 本殿 (Honden) is believed to be the oldest shrine structure in Japan.
P.S. click here for FlyingBaby in Japan (Pt.1) | Kyoto
