Seoul, Kyoto, & Osaka Journal. June 17th, 2026
Uji
I’m still getting lost around this hotel/shopping/station complex! Good thing my sister-in-law is familiar with it. We took the JR Loop Line to Osaka Castle. Even that’s more complicated than the Yamanote Loop Line. We had a quiet walk through the park and enjoyed seeing the iconic Osaka Castle, even if it’s really a castle-shaped museum. We exited on the side of the park so we could catch the Keihan limited express. It was very comfortable and fast. We were sitting in the front car, and there was a great view forward. Even better would have been the front four seats which are all right behind the driver's compartment. Then we transferred to a local at Chushojima.
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| Limited Express to Chushojima with an Ultraman Exhibition headmark. |
Arrived at Uji and walked across the Uji bridge - it was so windy that the cracks in the wood were whistling. There is a small platform on the bridge that extends out over the water. It’s used in a festival where they recreate the drawing of the water for the Emperor’s tea from the Uji river. Uji is known for its fine Tea! At the southern end of the bridge is a statue of Murasaki Shikibu, author of the famous novel of Heian period drama and romance. The last 10 chapters of “Tale of Genji” take place in Uji. We walked down omotesando and saw some cool gachapon machines so we got change from a store where the clerk asked if it was for “gatcha gatcha”. Never heard it called that.
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| Uji River |
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| Statue of Murasaki Shikibu with the Uji Bridge in the background. |
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| 食べ比べ天ぷら (Tabekurabe Tempura / Tempura Tasting Platter) at 蓮華茶屋 (Renge Chaya) The noodles in the middle are Sencha tea flavored. |
We had plenty of time for the Byodo-in Museum .Inside the museum they let you look close up at what you’ll be seeing inside the Phoenix Hall. These are the original thousand year old artworks, preserved in a climate controlled environment. What you see in the Phoenix Hall are reproductions. And the artworks are fantastic; carvings of the bodhisattvas on clouds, the phoenixes, and the bell. Each bodhisattva is different. Some are playing different musical instruments, others are dancing, and some are praying. Got a book from the museum shop since you can't take pictures. At the exit they had a display of what you might call Buddhist motivational posters. Usually I don’t go for that sort of thing, but these were really good. Too bad they weren't selling the books of the posters that they had on display.
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| Phoenix Hall |
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| アジサイ(Hydrangea) |
After the museum it was time for the tour of the Phoenix Hall. As you enter the hall, you see a representation of what it would be like to enter the Pure Land upon your death. You see Amida Buddha, and all around him are 52 cloud-riding Bodhisattvas who are dancing, playing musical instruments, and praying. Each one is different. Murals on the walls depict various visions of the Pure Land.
The tour was really strict. No shoes, wear packs in front, no photography. The guide was really good - very theatrical in her manner of speaking. Although because the presentation was in Japanese, I only understood part of it. After most people had left, the guide told us to look at the jewel on Buddha’s forehead directly as we exit. “It will shine buddha’s light of happiness on you”. And sure enough, from the side, it was dark, but from the front it was white.
After Byodo-in we went out to get matcha and vanilla soft cream. Then to the Tea Museum. There was some English language interpretation via QR code links. There was a video about Uji itself and it seems like a nice place to spend more time. Plus, it has one more of the 33 temples.
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| JR Nara Line crossing the Uji River. |
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| Demonstration tea planting. |
We retraced this morning’s train rides back to Osaka Station. Again, we got pretty lost for a while. Got dinner at the basement supermarket “Harves” : sushi & soba, dorayaki and 0.0% alcohol beer.
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