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My trip in March 2019
Uji city is the sacred site of green tea. And you can find a unique travel theme, thanks to Green Tea like a cafe tour. There are pretty and trendy cafes a lot. In particular, you can enjoy contemporary and traditional sensibilities at the same time under the theme of "Matcha" here.
※ Matcha, Green Tea??!
Matcha(in Japanese) is the powder of green tea. It is difficult to take in 100% of the useful ingredients of tea leaves with after boiling but in the case of Matcha, which is the tea that has ground the leaves, You can take the useful ingredients 100%. A long time ago, Green tea leaves were ground into a millstone and drank in powder form, and now people use modernized mechanical methods.
Green tea everywhere in Uji city.
It is possible to walk from Uji Train Station to Byodoin, the representative temple in the area. In particular, from Uji station to Byodoin there are numerous green tea-related cafes and restaurants . (It is called Omotesando road near the Byodoin Temple.) Green tea ramen, Green tea whipped cream cakes, green tea soba(noodle), green tea sweet rice balls and green tea crepes, etc. You can't count the kinds of food with green tea here. You can enjoy any food or dessert with green tea according to your taste. It is easy to buy and try without any information of Green tea. This is writing is my experience that there are some foods.
When I arrived at the Uji train station, I felt like I would be in a good mood. But the problem was rain. The closer I got to Uji city, the darker the sky and the thicker the raindrops. When I sent my luggage to Kyoto from Kansai airport, I also sent my portable umbrella, so I had to buy an umbrella in Uji city. It was my mistake for predicting that it would not rain that day, I was annoyed. “I can't help it," I said. I got down from the Uji train station and found a place to buy an umbrella. Coming out of the exit No.1, I could find the information center for travelers. I ran to the place.
at Information Center for Travelers
As soon as I opened the door, What surprised me was the smell of tea that filled the inside. It was the scent of real great green tea. The well-roasted, well-ground green tea scent was amazing!
"Do you sell umbrellas?"
"Yes, ma’am. Where are you from?“
“I'm Korean."
"Wait a minute.“
The staff asked for my nationality and gave me a tour map in Korean with umbrella. The umbrella was 53cm long and the price was 530 yen. Thanks to the tourist map, it was fine without any information of Uji city. I could start my trip with rain and map.
A tour of traditional cafes and modern cafes
1. Itoh-Kyuemon in front of JR Uji station (伊藤久右衛門 JR宇治駅前店)
- Address: Umonji-16−1 Uji, Kyoto 611-0021, Japan ▶see GOOGLEMAPS
- Contact: +81 774-22-0475
- Business hours: 10:30 to 18:30 (Cafe L.O. 18:00)
Itoh-Kyuemon was founded 180 years ago and is now a large brand with several branches. There are a total of eight branches, mostly in the city of Uji. It's also at Kyoto Station, so even those who travel only to Kyoto can enjoy Ito-kueemon's tea and dessert. it was not difficult to find because it was just in front of the Uji train Station in JR Nara Line. There is a modern cafe inside the store, which is full of people who are always waiting. When I visited here, I had to wait a long time because seven teams were already on standby. I decided not to wait for long time here because there were many dessert teahouses where I could enjoy green tea here in Uji city.
