Uji

I've had a growing taste for matcha over the past year since Julie and my last trip to Japan, so this time I wanted to visit where matcha comes from.

But first, coffee. Always coffee (or matcha).

The real challenge, we discovered, was navigating Kyoto station. We got lost trying to get to the other side of the station. It's a 12 story behemoth and feels like an outdoor mall in size.

We did finally figure it out on day 3 (but by then it was time to leave).

We did finally make it to Uji, where we walked around and shopped.

Julie found some Gashapon and we got rid of some extra yen we'd been carrying around

Nakamura Tokichi was our first matcha stop - delicious!

Byodin Hoshokan Museum

Our next stop was the Byodoin Temple and museum. They had a few national treasures featured on our visit: "Temple Bell", "Phoenix", and "The Praying Bodhisattva on Clouds".

Fun fact - the temple is featured on the Japanese 10 yen coin!

We got caught in a rainstorm, but we sought some shelter under an overhang which ended being quite meditative.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the surrounding area without a plan. We eventually found our way to some green (matcha) soba noodles, and wrapped up the day.