Mimuroto-ji Temple

This modest little shrine is another one of Uji's historic monuments recognized as a World Heritage site. It's said to be the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan and was built to console the soul of Prince Uji no Wakiiratsuko, who committed suicide in the Uji River.

A Zen temple that features a long, justly-famous tree-covered approach from the river. It's a lovely walk in the autumn. Kosho-ji is a working temple, so while visitors can walk the grounds, the temple buildings themselves are frequently in use. Keep quiet while you're there; zen chants hang in the air in the late afternoon.

The Uji shrine and the Ujigami shrine next door used to be part of the same complex, then known as Rikyukamisha. An interesting feature is the rabbit sculpture, which is said to have prevented the deity from getting lost.

This tea house, operated by the town of Uji, is located along the river close to the Byodo-in temple. The tea ceremony is held in a traditional Japanese building with tatami and table seating. The tea on offer is either Sencha or Matcha, however you don't get to choose, it is whichever is on offer that day. You can buy tickets in the tourist information office right next to the tea house.

The Byōdō-in was built by Fujiwara Yorimichi, the Chief Adviser to the Emperor, in 1053. It was built as a rural villa owned by his father. Yorimichi built the temple in response to the prevalent fear that a dark age was about to dawn, and Buddhism would soon disappear. The main statue of the Phoenix Hall (鳳凰堂 Hōō-dō) represents the Buddha Amida (Amitabha); many people turned to it for refuge from the present and future, and this gave rise to the Pure Land Faith movement of Buddhism. Battles and fires took their toll on Byōdō-in over several hundred years, but a fire during the Edo period proved devastating. Only the Hōō-dō survived intact, protected by a pond. For a quick preview of what you'll see, check your pockets: the Hōō-dō is the temple on the ¥10 coin. The entrance fee also covers the temple's museum, which contains a variety of historical artifacts from the temple. The video and displays are all translated into English, so foreign visitors can easily appreciate the museum artifacts. If you choose to enter to the Phoenix Hall, it costs extra, and you can only enter as a tour (aka: you can't just walk in and out on your own). The tours run every 20 minutes and are limited to 50 people. No photos are allowed inside the Hall, and the tour is only in Japanese, although a written English transcript is provided. Inside, you will see the Buddha statue up close. Don't forget to look at the artwork behind you and on the side walls. An interesting fact that you won't hear on the tour is that in the early 20th century, the Byōdō-in was actually used by many local homeless as a temporary home. They tell visitors that all of the fading just happened over time, but you'll notice the artwork is completely gone on the bottom. This is because the homeless who lived here often wrote graffiti on the walls, so the original artwork was lost, even after the homeless were forced out and restoration was attempted. If you want to see the interior of the Hōō-dō, arrive well in advance of the last tour (4:10PM). Byōdō-in is a World Heritage site.

This is the head temple of the Japanese Ōbaku Zen sect, which is considered to be more Chinese than the other two sects (Rinzai and Soto). You can see the Chinese influences in the architecture, as the roofs were built in the Ming Dynasty style.