Uji is much less commercialized place than Kyoto, which has throngs of tourists and many tourist traps (not that I really mind, cos I need to get my souveniers). But the hustle and bustle in Kyoto, especially during the very crowded hanami season (cherry blossom viewing season) can get on my nerves sometime, especially whilst jostling up bus 100 (the tourist bus)...
The more famous tourist spots are the Byodo-in temple (which we missed cos we were rushing to eat and rushing for a tea ceremony, and then rushing to Fushimi Inari shrine before sunset) and some other shrine, as well as some very old bridge where many battles of great significance to Uji's history occured (there were at least 2-3 bridges and I think we didn't manage to find the correct one). Also, the Tale of Genji (some very epic literature book which I haven't read) is set in Uji.
We rushed to the Taihoan tea house, which is managed by the local town council/tourist council for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It's really affordable, and costs 500 yen (about SGD$7.50) for a 20minute tea ceremony.
The Japanese take their tea ceremonies very seriously, and they even have an immensely complex way to drink tea. Click this link to Wiki on chado (the way of the tea). It involves facing the correct direction, having the right water temperature, number of swirls and turning the intricately designed tea bowl the correct direction (either clockwise or anticlockwise, I cannot remember). 
We had to wait a while, and during this time, we were told to admire the traditional Japanese garden, including this stone water jug thing for cleansing our hands (?). It's very peaceful and quiet.
The traditional tea room, which has a picture to admire at the side of it, as well as a depressed hearth to warm the tea. It has traditional tatami mats, and the tea masters have to bow before entering and leaving the room. Of course, everything was done in Japanese, so we couldn't understand about 99% of what was going on, whilst the 2 other elderly Japanese tourists oooh-ed and ahhh-ed over what the tea master was saying. We weren't used to kneeling Japanese style, and half way through, my legs were dying from ischemia and we all had a major case of pins and needles once the ceremony ended.
The very expensive and delicately handmade Japanese sweet, which was pink and had a sakura pattern since it was spring. It was very nice, tasted a bit like agar-agar but with a beany taste. The sweetness is supposed to counter the bitterness from the thick matcha.
I really hope to visit Uji again, and maybe stay for 2days 1 night since it's such a lovely, quaint city, unpolluted by millions of tourist and tourist buses. And maybe next time I'll find the correct bridge (so many bridges, couldn't find the one where epic battles took place...)
We had to wait a while, and during this time, we were told to admire the traditional Japanese garden, including this stone water jug thing for cleansing our hands (?). It's very peaceful and quiet.The traditional tea room, which has a picture to admire at the side of it, as well as a depressed hearth to warm the tea. It has traditional tatami mats, and the tea masters have to bow before entering and leaving the room. Of course, everything was done in Japanese, so we couldn't understand about 99% of what was going on, whilst the 2 other elderly Japanese tourists oooh-ed and ahhh-ed over what the tea master was saying. We weren't used to kneeling Japanese style, and half way through, my legs were dying from ischemia and we all had a major case of pins and needles once the ceremony ended.
The very expensive and delicately handmade Japanese sweet, which was pink and had a sakura pattern since it was spring. It was very nice, tasted a bit like agar-agar but with a beany taste. The sweetness is supposed to counter the bitterness from the thick matcha.I really hope to visit Uji again, and maybe stay for 2days 1 night since it's such a lovely, quaint city, unpolluted by millions of tourist and tourist buses. And maybe next time I'll find the correct bridge (so many bridges, couldn't find the one where epic battles took place...)More about Uji:
Next post will be on one of my most memorable meals in Japan, at one of Japan's oldest tea houses :) That's if my job doesn't kill me first... I have to work on Vesak day. Depressing +++.
Yuba tofu is one of Kyoto's specialities. It's like tau kee (bean curd skin) but they have it in both the fresh and dried versions. We were really lucky to stumble upon this small speciality restaurant serving nothing but yuba tofu early one morning, before our hike up to Kiomizudera. We had a scrumptious and very healthy, gout-inducing breakfast. 
We saw quite a few Japanese tourist here, and they all had different Kyoto guide books. No other non-Japanese tourists there but us - but they (thankfully) had an english menu :)
Different forms of yuba tofu - this one's fried with soy sauce and it becomes slightly crispy and very brittle.
This is the fresh version, but it's drier than the creamy ones we had for the appetiser. This one is served with soy sauce and wasabi, cos it's rather bland by itself. I thought the freshly grated wasabi went really well with the cool tofu skin.
Fresh yuba tofu (the creamy kind) served over rice and braised with soy sauce. This dish was delicious when eaten with the glossy Japanese rice. I don't like rice unless it's the Japanese rice, which has a nice pearly sheen and has more moisture. The yuba tofu was served with freshly grated ginger, which gave it a nice spicy taste. 
Dessert was also yuba tofu - this one is the fresh creamy kind again, but it's served with thick, brown sugar and kinako powder (roasted soy bean powder). 
Served chilled, it's a nice sweet ending to the yuba tofu meal we had.
The set also comes with miso soup, this one has a reddish hue and tastes almost nutty. Interior of the restaurant - nice warm wooden interior - there was a queue outside when we were done. We were fortunate to stumble upon this restaurant at the unearthly hour of 1030am, when there was hardly anyone around.
To-nyu matcha (green tea with soymilk) 
Of course, we chose the most expensive set cos we wanted to try everything. It's 1680 yen, which comes to about $25 sgd, which we thought was pretty reasonable, considering that some other posher places in Kyoto serve tofu lunches/dinners for up to about 5000 yen.
Kiyomizudera is one of the must see sights in Kyoto. It dates back to 798 (acc to 
The Otowa waterfall has 3 channels of water falling into a pond. Visitors can drink the water, and each channel has either blessings of health, wealth or longevity. But you can only drink from 2 cos if not the gods will think you are greedy and not grant you any. 
Nice pond in Kiyomizudera, which looked much better at night.
I used to think Kiyomizudera looked so nice and grand during the day, but it looks spectacular at night. During the cherry blossom season, Kiyomizudera is lit up at night and it's really worth a look if you happen to be there. The light up ends around 930 to 10pm and we managed to rush in and complete half the path before we were asked to leave (closing time).
Belgium waffles at the Kyoto JR station (near the train line to Nara). I had the strawberry one, which was really very delicious. It's more bready than cakey (I dislike the cakey tasting Belgium waffles) and I like anything with strawberry, more so if it's Japanese strawberries.
One of the places which I really wanted to go to in Kyoto was the Philosopher's Path. I've been to Kyoto twice before, but both times, I missed this. 
It takes around 4-5h (if you're slow and ploddy like us, and keep getting distracted by shops and food along the way) but I think it's very walkable within 2h. 
Walking along the cherry tree lined canal was really nice, and the canal was full of cherry blossom petals. 
We also spotted lots of cats along the path. The Japanese really like cats, and the cats there are all so round and well fed, and they never look mottled or scrawny like the strays here. We nicknamed the cats above Mochi and Dango, cos there were so round and white.
Store which sells only cat related stuff
Japanese masks. I like the fox mask.
I think I am such an old person when I travel. I really enjoy sitting down and eating, especially if it's under cherry blossom trees in full bloom, and I would very truthfully much rather do this than cheonging about Universal Studios and Disneyland and sea (anyway, everything is in Japanese, so can't understand much! And it's so crowded and one has to queue for nearly an hour to get onto a ride which lasts a few minutes. So, a great part of my trip was devoted to sitting and eating, and the Philosopher's Path was no exception.
The dango from this stall is grilled over a charcoal fire.
This is the shop where I had my Amazake, and it's along the path leading up to the Ginkakuji (Silver Pavillion) right at the start of the Philosopher's walk. We didn't go into the Ginkakuji cos the entrance fee was around SGD$7.50.
We were trying to look for another temple along the Philosopher's path (if I'm not wrong it's the Nazenji temple) and we even crawled up a very steep slope looking for it, but we couldn't find it! But we found a very quiet, nice forested area (and a cemetry).
More stuff along the Philosopher's Path
Ducks swimming in the canal.
This old lady is very cute! She was using a featherduster to brush off all the cherry blossom petals which fell onto the car. Her house is surrounded by lots of cherry blossom trees. I really like the quaint, 2 -3 storey houses in Kyoto - feels like you're stepping back in time.
This is another temple/shrine which we stumbled upon. I'm not too sure but it might be the Eikando temple(?). Oh well, this was at the end of the walk and we were really tired from walking.
The JR Kyoto station, which is where the bullet train will take you to. It's probably one of the bigger, more mordern structures in Kyoto. Some people say it's ugly, cos it sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all the shorter buildings. But I think it looks quite nice at night. 
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