Uji: Matcha Capital

With sakura season descending upon us, I ventured out to Uji during the weekend. Uji is a small city just south of Kyoto and also near Nara, making it a well-known cultural area. However, this city is best known for its high quality green tea and its many restaurants and shops sell a variety of matcha-flavored food such as soba, ice cream and other sweets. 

My main priority was to visit Byodoin Temple which was originally built as a villa for a politician from the Fujiwara clan, but was later changed into a temple. The Phoenix Hall is the main attraction at Byodoin where visitors can go on a guided tour for an extra 300 yen (the admission fee is 600 yen which includes access to the Treasure House). 

Uji River divides the city into two parts and its banks are lined with numerous shops and restaurants, offering visitors a place to eat while enjoying the view :) 

If you cross one of the bridges, it'll lead you to a small island in the middle of the river, perfect for picnics and escaping the crowded streets. I actually came here after lunch for some peace and quiet and it did not disappoint despite there being quite a few people. 

The main street to get your matcha omiyage and food is Omotesando-- 300 meters of shops and restaurants for you to pick and choose from before arriving at Byodoin Temple. 

Not sure what this was for as these boats are usually for fishing, but the people there seemed to be preparing for a lunch cruise! I can only imagine how nice that would be, enjoying a meal while floating down the river in a boat :) 

Father and son enjoying some quality time on the small island

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! :) 

Ume: Arrival of Spring

Just a short post today :) I completely missed the ume, or plum blossoms, last year so I made sure to take some photos while my family was here ^^ These were mostly taken in Sannomiya towards the end of my family's visit. We had gone to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine to see them, but had been too early which was a huge bummer. Very thankful that my parents and brother were able to see these before they left! ^^

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! ^^

Nara: Japan's First Permanent Capital

A visit to Japan wouldn't be complete without going to Nara, Japan's first permanent capital which was established in 710. Over the years, the Buddhist monasteries acquired a vast amount of political influence-- so much that the government grew wary and moved the capital to Nagaoka. Because of this, Nara still has many traditional temples and buildings, including the famous Todaiji.

Nara is also famous for its deer. There are various vendors who sell shika senbei, or crackers that are made for the deer. While some (or a lot) may be pushy to get to the food, it's still an experience :)

The famed Todaiji, built in 752 as the head temple of all Buddhist temples in Japan, is a must-see. Its sheer size will take your breath away despite it being only two-thirds of the original size when it was reconstructed in the 1600s. The main hall is actually the world's largest wooden building! 

Not the best angle, but the bronze Daibutsu (Buddha) is actually fifteen meters tall!

Interesting fashion choices every day...

And you can't forget about the selfies, although I'm not a huge fan of those selfie sticks. 

Some cheap, but very yummy soba for lunch!! :) 

We ate in the small restaurant that overlooked the pond, away from the busy crowds and overpriced food along the main streets. 

Side streets always fascinate me because you never know what you'll find :)

This five-story pagoda is the second tallest in Japan, the first one is at Toji Temple which is seven meters taller. The pagoda is one of the few buildings that remain from Kofukuji. The Fujiwara clan was the most powerful family during the Nara and Heian periods and built Kofukuji as their family temple. Apparently, the temple used to have over a hundred buildings during the height of their power. 

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! Sakura season is getting closer and I can't wait to go out and take as many photos as I can! ^^ Any suggestions? Let me know! :)

Raindrops on Temples: Kiyomizu-dera

I'm back with another Kyoto post! :) My apologies for not posting this weekend-- my friend was staying over so I wasn't on my laptop much at all. Today's post will be on one of the most popular tourist spots in Kyoto: Kiyomizu-dera! This was a very high priority for my parents because they loved it so much the last time they visited Japan. Staying in Kyoto gave us that early head-start that we needed to beat the crowds and thank goodness we did! Groups of Chinese tourists and students on their field-trips started to flow in soon after we wandered around shot the ever popular temple photos. It rained off and on during the morning, but that didn't stop us from having a fun time stopping along Sannen-Zaka and Ninen-Zaka, poking our heads into the numerous shops and stores for omiyage :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!