Uji

Our final day before going back to Kani was dedicated to the small town of Uji outside of Kyoto city. The main attraction is Byodoin Temple. This temple is so beloved by Japan that its image in on the 10 yen coin and the roof top phoenix decorations are pictured on the 10,000 yen note. The main building is called the Phoenix hall and was built in the Heian period, about 1000 years ago. The building is completely made of wood and one of the few remaining buildings remaining in Japan from the Heian period.

The big golden Buddha inside was made by a famous sculptor and is his only surviving work. The garden setting complete with temple reflection and beautiful trees was stunning. I took a corny picture of a 10 yen coin with the temple in the background.

The original rooftop phoenixes are still in almost perfect condition and can be seen in the museum. The current ones on the roof are replicas. Many birds land up on that roof and we saw a giant heron poop up there!

After Byodoin we went to an old Shinto shrine (Ujigami Shrine). The Lonely Planet said that there was nothing interesting about the shrine even though it is an UNESCO World Heritage site (as was Byodoin). We went anyway and were pleasantly surprised to find a small beautiful shrine back a cute lane surrounded by bamboo and old trees. The two wooden buildings that make up the shrine are the oldest shrine buildings in Japan.

Their thatched roofs were thick with moss and their austerity and simplicity were very different from other more colorful shrines I have seen. And the leaves on the roof tiles was beautiful. It was again amazing to be looking at small wooden buildings that were over a thousand years old.

I wish we had had more time to spend in Uji. It had a beautiful river and the surrounding hills were wonderful. Uji was also famous for tea (there were tons of tea shops there and the smell of tea was everywhere) and for the famous Japanese book The Tale of Genji. The last 10 chapters of this thousand year old epic novel were set in the town of Uji and many of the streets, buildings and places mentioned in the book are still extant.

Overall our trip was an incredibly interesting Japanese experience. We learned a lot, ate great food, met some interesting people, and got to forget about all our worries if just for a little while. We returned to Kani on a Friday and were looking forward to meeting our friend Jeremy Eades at the station for a weekend visit before going back to work.