Day Trip to Uji – Tea House Tour of Japan’s Matcha Capital

Day Trip to Uji – Tea House Tour of Japan’s Matcha Capital

[Music] welcome to uji Japan uji is known for its matcha tea and you’ll smell tea and desserts on every corner the city is a Serene Oasis full of history and quintessential Japanese sites join us as we explore the matcha capital of Japan starting our trip off we Subway into town from Kyoto our destination is uji station and only a short two blocks away our first stop this is one of ui’s most famous and viral tea houses it was around noon and we joined the wait list but unfortunately did not make the cut before they closed however they do have a really cool gift shop and we took a peek inside one cool thing is that you get to taste different teas if you’d like and we ended up buying some matcha and hojicha leaves [Music] stop number two was a short walk away as well gingo this might have been my favorite stop as the shop had been in this family for Generations the owner was super passionate and friendly after giving us a walkthrough of some of the teas that he had he brewed us a couple to taste and you guessed it we bought a couple I got aena tea which is from the same leaves as matcha but retains the stems and is not finely ground this had an earthy and mellow taste apart from the tea being amazing quality the interior of this place was also pretty unique with a Vibe kind of like functional Workshop meets traditional family home [Music] next St we crossed the river and had to take a bite of some of these viral snacks that we had heard about so we are trying some matcha gioas right here no idea what to expect really good the matcha flavor is like subtle I’m not sure if I taste it right off the bat it’s there a little bit but it just tastes like a mostly normal really good yoa and now for the matcha Taco Yaki which is normally one of my favorite snacks but we’ll see how this changes things again is really good and the matcha is like kind of subtle but I think it adds and it’s really good a little bit different but [Music] good with its pedestrian streets and relatively smallish size uji is the perfect City to wander by foot after our snack we ended up seeing a lot of cool shops and Riverside views enjoy these sights and sounds of uji and some photos we took along the way before we introduce our next stop in the city oh [Music] we had a matcha making class that we registered for this afternoon but there were still about an hour of free time before perfect for a quick stop at one of ui’s most famous temples so this is the Bodo Temple and it’s absolutely fantastic so it was built in I think the year 1052 I’m not sure if it’s been reconstructed but it’s a old temple with a lot of history and there’s even a museum that you can check out so after doing a little bit of research I can confirm that the temple was rebuilt in the early 1900s after the second major fire to damage the complex this also damaged the Phoenix Hall this large red central building the Temple was founded by the Fuji Raa Clan and it was the site of a couple large samurai battles it’s also home to some Priceless Treasures including Buddhist statues from the 11th century this Temple is a real symbol of uji and of Japan it can be found on the 10 Yen coin [Music] oh [Music] the Macha making class we signed up for was run by the uji tourism board and as such was not that pricey but space is limited we started with our leaves portioned out and our tools at the ready First Step using the millstone to grind the Mata leaves into a fine powder there’s a specific speed which you need to turn up so that the grinding is done to the appropriate finess if you’re wondering yes a machine can do this but it’s kind of fun to try it ourselves as well after whisking until it’s full of small bubbles we sampled the drink and it was great the star of the show might also have been the homemade yokan dessert sweet red bean flavored with an awesome texture after dessert on our way out we checked out quickly the matcha Museum and the shop at the bottom which was full of great teas and [Music] souvenirs finishing our day we headed to one last dessert at suen te the oldest Tea House in Japan and we reflected on our trip to uji for me this was one of the highlights of our whole Japan trip it’s more than just tea here with Scenic Riverside walks centuries of preserved history and a lot of sites in a compact area the Matra capital of Japan is somewhere that left a real impression on us and is a place will not soon forget

Join us as we travel to Uji, Japan – the heart of matcha culture! Learn how to spend a day in Uji with us. Known for its rich history and world-famous green tea, Uji is a must-visit destination for any matcha lover. In this video, we explore charming tea shops, sample some unique matcha snacks, and even take part in a hands-on matcha-making class. We also visit the iconic Byodoin Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most famous temples in Japan!
If you love travel and matcha, this is one adventure you won’t want to miss!

0:00 – Intro
0:29 – Nakamura Tokichi Honten
1:15 – Jinjiro
2:13 – Matcha Gyoza & Matcha Takoyaki
3:16 – Scenic Streets
4:08 – Byodoin Temple
6:00 – Matcha Making Class
7:24 – Tsuen Tea

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