Uji is a small city on the river of the same name, south of Kyoto, and it holds two treasures that face each other across the water. On the west bank stands the Byōdō-in, a temple whose Phoenix Hall, built in 1053, appears on the Japanese ten-yen coin. On the east bank, up a quiet lane, is Ujigami-jinja, a modest shrine whose main hall is considered the oldest surviving Shinto shrine building in Japan, dating from the late Heian period, in the eleventh century. Its simple wooden structure, with a cypress-bark roof, stands in a small courtyard surrounded by trees, and it is far less crowded than the Byōdō-in. Both are part of the UNESCO listing of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.
Uji has a literary fame too. The last ten chapters of The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century and often called the world's first novel, are set here, and a museum in the city is dedicated to the book. A statue of the author stands near the bridge.
Above all, Uji is famous for tea. The hills around the city have been growing green tea since the Middle Ages, and Uji matcha, the powdered green tea used in the tea ceremony, is considered among the finest in Japan. The street leading to the Byōdō-in is lined with tea shops, where you can taste matcha and buy sencha and gyokuro, and many sell green tea ice cream, green tea noodles and green tea sweets of every kind. The Uji river flows swiftly through the city, clear and green, with islands in the middle connected by bridges. In summer, cormorant fishing takes place in the evenings, a traditional technique where trained birds catch fish for the fishermen.
Riding around Uji is a mix of urban traffic and pleasant country roads. The roads south and east of the city climb into hills covered in tea plantations and forests, with tight bends and views over the valley. The roads towards Lake Biwa, following the river upstream through a gorge, are scenic and winding. Traffic is dense in the Kyoto area, and the speed limits are low.
Uji has fuel, convenience stores and restaurants. Come in spring, for the cherry blossoms along the river, or in autumn, for the maples, and arrive early to avoid the crowds.