Kyoto is a stop for many when visiting Japan but just south of the famous city is the lesser-known Uji. Uji may not be on a lot of people’s radars as a place to visit but those who love Japanese food are probably familiar with the product that the area is most famous for: matcha (抹茶), or green tea. A combination of the region’s soil condition, hilly terrain, and misty climate all contribute to a premium tea leaf, which, when processed, become what many claim to be some of the best matcha in the world.

It comes as no surprise that Uji capitalises on green tea, forming a tourism backbone on this hot commodity. Best of all, it’s 40 minutes’ train ride from Kyoto and located on the way to Nara, making it an excellent destination for foodies looking for a day-trip or a city to add to your itinerary.

Uji

The city of Uji is divided by the Uji River. On either side are the two Uji Stations separated only by about 5 minutes’ walk – the one sitting northeast of the station station is run by a local train line, whereas the southwestern is run by Japan Rail (JR), making the city very easily accessible regardless of which route you take.

Each half of the riverbank also offers a number of attractions, with slightly different styles and feels. The north-eastern side is definitely quieter, home to a number of small shrines, museums, and a hall with a walking track and observation deck, whereas the southern is where you’ll find the famous Byodoin Temple (平等院), and a more bustling central area. The southern side is where you’ll find more restaurants, souvenir stores, and teahouses, and where many of the locals are often attracted to. We recommend paying a visit to both, and taking a walk along the island and bridges of the Uji River, which is quiet and very beautiful.

Tsuen Tea House (通圓)

Right across the road from the Uji Station on the northern side of the riverbank and located just over the bridge is Tsuen Tea House (通圓), the oldest known tea house in the world. It was founded almost 1,000 years ago in 1160 and as of our time of visit in June 2019 was run by the 24^th generation of the original Tsuen family. Besides selling tea-based products they are also a restaurant that sells traditional Japanese desserts such as rice cakes, and modern desserts such as ice cream and parfaits, focusing on matcha green tea as its predominant flavour.

Tale of Genji Museum

Uji is also the setting of The Tale of Genji, which is believed to be the oldest modern novel in the world and written by a noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部) published sometime in the early 11^th Century. It’s a long and very complex novel covering the life of Hikaru Genji (光源氏), an Emperor’s son, as well as events and happenings throughout his lifetime. It contains a fair amount of drama, as it includes a number of the romantic pursuits that the handsome and virtually flawless Genji becomes involved in, but it is a long and very convoluted read, partly as characters are mostly referred to using titles rather than names which requires some level of historical context, and that there are just so many characters involved. Reading the novel is definitely not for the faint of heart, but it is definitely a fascinating snapshot into that era of Japanese history.

For those who are interested in the novel, there is a Tale of Genji Museum located just a few minutes’ walk from the Uji Station north of the river. While we couldn’t visit as it’s closed on Mondays, it looks to be an incredibly beautiful and well-maintained location, with plenty of photo of opportunities if nothing else. The information in the museum seem to be predominantly displayed in Japanese, but we believe it would provide much better context for anyone who has attempted this beast of a novel.

Fukujuen Uji (福寿園 宇治茶工房)

Right on the northern side of the river, right across the Asagiri Bridge is Fukujuen Uji, a tea factory, shop, and museum. The museum is more of a permanent exhibition but it’s free entry and very informative, with all information displayed in English detailing the tea-making process and the differences between different types of tea.

It is a fantastic place to visit for anyone who loves their tea, and especially wants to learn more about matcha and other Japanese teas. There is also a café located upstairs from their showroom.

Hariyoshi Butcher (お肉のはりよし)

With the push for matcha comes some very interesting products. Hariyoshi, located just a few minutes’ walk from the JR Uji Station south of the riverbank, is a butcher that sells potato croquettes infused with matcha! As is common with butcheries in Japan, value-added items such as cutlets and croquettes are sold, which can be purchased raw or cooked in-store to be consumed hot, fresh, and crispy right there and then. There was no way we wouldn’t take advantage of that, and purchased their unique matcha croquette (抹茶コロッケ) for only ¥150 (US$1.40).

It was handed to us piping hot, crispy on the outside from the panko breadcrumbs and fluffy and tender on the inside from the potato filling. The first flavour we got was the sweetness from the onions, and besides the general taste of potatoes the matcha was admittedly faint, if completely absent besides a hint of bitterness.

A little underwhelming in terms of its promise, but nonetheless and absolutely delicious croquette and we had the fun experience of trying one fresh from a butcher. If you’re looking for an incredibly satisfying snack, this is definitely a place to visit.

Restaurants for Lunch

There are many restaurants all around Uji that sell tea-infused meals but on our visit close to the end of lunch hours we quickly stopped off at Kawabun (川文), which we chose at random and in a hurry. We decided to try two local specialties – herring soba (茶そばにしん; ¥1,000; US$9.20) and cold dipping soba (茶そばざる; ¥900; $8.30). The soba in both of the dishes had green tea in it but it wasn’t very noticeable, but the broth for each one was delicious – lightly seasoned but fragrant.

Kawabun is probably nowhere near the best restaurant in the area but we did enjoy it. There are plenty of options around, which include a number of interesting green tea dishes such as green tea ramen. Of course we can’t attest to how good any of them are, but for sure there’s no shortage of places to stop for a meal.

Dango (団子)

Dango (団子) are dumplings made from glutinous rice flour, shaped into little balls and often skewered. They can be filled and flavoured, so unsurprisingly there are a number of places in Uji which sell dango flavoured with tea. We decided to buy a skewer of matcha dango from Uji Surugaya (御菓子処（株）宇治駿河屋), a traditional Japanese confectionery store located on the corner of the main road. One skewer with 4 dumplings was ¥90 (US$0.80), which we considered pretty cheap, but was not very satisfying – we figure that the shop is famous for souvenirs, so their sweets are probably made to last a little longer than your average rice dumplings. It’s likely to use some sort of sugar to prevent the dumplings from drying out and becoming tough, so the resulting is a very sweet, chewy dumpling with only a light matcha flavour.

While there’s nothing wrong with that we do prefer a more tender dumpling, and we had hoped for something a little stronger on the tea. A little further down the road is Marukichi (丸吉(茶団子田楽)), a confectionery shop whose dango is ¥140 (US$1.30) for three dumplings, though each is flavoured with a different type of tea: Sencha (煎茶), where the tea leaves are steeped; matcha, where powdered tea is dissolved into water; and houjicha (焙じ茶), where the tea leaves are roasted rather than steamed.

The dumplings are skewered to allow you to start with the lightest flavour, which adds to the experience. These were more tender, less sweet, and much more fragrant than the ones from Uji Surugaya, which was closer to our preference. We thought the houjicha one was delicious – these little skewers are so small and tasty that we recommend trying one each.

Chez Hagata (宇治のプレミアムスイーツ シェ・アガタ)

Of course, we couldn’t leave Uji without sampling a proper green tea dessert. Rather than traditional, we opted for a more modern route and walked a little further to the premium dessert store Chez Hagata, who specialises in cream Swiss rolls and sweet terrines, of course flavoured with local tea products. We opted for a slice of the matcha roll (抹茶アガタロール（カット; ¥324; US$3.00) and a houjicha crème brûlée (宇治ほうじ茶のクレームブリュレ; ¥459; US$4.20), which they brûlée fresh for you on the spot.

The roll is frozen, so it’s recommended that you let it come to room temperature or at least soften in the fridge for a bit before consuming. The cake is firm but tender, with an incredibly rich, smooth cream filling that is packed with a delightful green tea flavour from the matcha. It’s sweetened perfectly, and the tea leaves a lingering fragrance which isn’t overwhelmingly bitter. It’s definitely a recommended dessert for anyone who may not be so keen on traditional Japanese sweets, even if you have to take into consideration the defrosting situation.

The crème brûlée is equally incredible. The sheet of sugar from the torching is paper-thin and crisp, yielding to the lightest touch of the spoon and shattering for a delicate, caramel sweetness which pairs with the roasted flavour of the houjicha roasted tea beautifully. The custard is thick, rich, and creamy, and even with the tea we still found that we could taste the milk in the custard. Even better, you can keep the cup which the dessert comes in, which we thought was a beautiful souvenir. If you ask nicely they’ll even wash and wrap the bowl in bubble wrap – incredible customer service, and delicious products to boot.

Chez Hagata also has products which are not flavoured with tea, so those who aren’t so keen on Japanese sweets and don’t like the taste of tea can still find something to enjoy here. It should be noted that the shop doesn’t have any seating – just a couple of chairs and a little table outside, so it’s likely a place to stop off to buy souvenirs. Still, we highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a bakery with a different style of sweets for your matcha or houjicha fix.

Bonus Souvenir – Green Tea Curry

Alongside a plethora of interesting matcha meals there are also a number of souvenirs you can take home. A fair number of these include sweets of some capacity – hard candies, matcha chocolates, matcha cookies – but it’s not so much in our nature to make a purchase if we feel we can find it back at home, so we opted for the most interesting food item we could find. Cue the Uji matcha curry (宇治抹茶カレー), which cost us somewhere in the realm of ¥500 (US$5.00) for a nice hefty portion. This comes in a pouch that can be boiled or microwaved to be reheated, and of course best served on freshly steamed rice.

The resulting dish is a smooth, creamy curry, shockingly coloured a rich navy green, with a fair number of vegetables such as potatoes and carrots, and a couple of cubes of chicken. The colouring makes it look like a saag, though the smoothness of the texture indicates it’s not, whereas the smell is fairly innocuous – of spices but little else. The texture is pretty good, but the flavour is questionable; while it starts off similar to a typical Japanese-style curry of a sweet-salty-savoury creamy sauce with a blend of curry spices, it soon becomes overwhelmed by the matcha, which is bitter and vegetal in flavour.

If you’re to add honey or something to cover the borderline offensive flavour of the matcha it’s almost palatable, but even at this quantity between the two of us, we needed a fair amount of rice to finish it off. It’s pretty bitter, and not in a pleasant way. This is definitely not something you stock up on to remind yourself of your trip to Japan. For us, at least, it’s a souvenir at best, quirky and unique, and not something that can be found in your average Japanese supermarket. Some may like it, but it was not for us. To each their own.

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