Japan: Uji and Kyoto
Uji. Uji Uji Uji. I had been longing to go to Uji. Uji is synonymous with tea in Japan. Uji sencha. Uji matcha. Uji gyokuro. I hadn’t even known that Uji existed until December when Anna sent me a care package with sencha from Uji and explained that it was the renowned tea Mecca in Japan. And then I moved to Greenpoint and started to meet friends for tea tastings at Kettl, THE premiere Japanese tea spot in NYC, if you ask me, and I started to learn more about tea regions in Japan. My Japanese teacher, Yoshi, sent me information about Uji for my trip and I was so excited for this day.
Let me tell you, Uji did NOT disappoint. It wasn’t just the tea, though that was a priority. It was also the spectacular weather- spring had sprung! Many sakura had bloomed, blue sunny skies, and just the balmiest imaginable climate. Anna and I arrived around 1pm and met up with Yoshi-san, my Japanese teacher, his wife Christina, Anna’s friend, and Christina’s cousin Ally, visiting from the States. This was a dream team to Uji with! Christina knew the lay of the land and the history really well, Yoshi-san was our certified tour guide (let’s be real, Christina was the tour guide, but Yoshi was certified :-) and Japanese expert, and Ally was so friendly and made me feel less like a helpless visitor. It was such a gift to go along for the ride with them!
Christina and Yoshi had lived very nearby and knew which shops we should go to for tea, for sweets, for Umeboshi, for Japanese clothwares. We went to the beautiful Phoenix temple and walked and took photos just enjoying this perfect spring day and the beauty of the balance between nature and architecture.
Then we went to our tea ceremony class! I had been to an Urasenke tea ceremony class with soul mama Linda on the Upper East Side, so I was a bit familiar. Christina, it turns out, had studied Urasenke for a while, so her translation and assistance was very helpful. Yoshi had never done tea ceremony before and it was so sweet to see our two teachers, who spoke primarily Japanese with a few key English words and phrases, giving him instructions in English. “Relax!” “Scoop.” “Mickey Mouse.” Mickey Mouse was how we learned the positions of the implements on the tray when we made the tea ourselves.
It was wonderful. The matcha was wonderful. The experience wonderful. The weather unbelievable.
Then it was time. I knew I wanted to get the tools for preparing matcha and thought Uji would surely be the place. Christina took us to the right chops to get tea, to get the tools, to get sweets to accompany. I am now hooked UP. Hit me up for tea time in NYC, for real!! I decided that most of my souvenirs are the type I can share with others: tea and stationary. If you are near, come join me for tea. If you are far, I will write you a letter! And maybe I will lick the envelope with matcha breath, so you won’t feel too left out :-)
We also went into an Umeboshi (sour plum) shop. I just love the specialization, not just of shops, but of towns. Yoshino was cherry blossoms. Nara was deer. Minoh was maple leaves. Uji was tea. And y’all, I cannot say enough about train travel. Holy moly. It’s pretty convenient to travel regionally in Europe- regional cities are accessible by train bookings and then have public transit within. In the US, forget about that. Want to get out of a city without a car? Pretty much a big fat NOPE. But in Japan, no booking necessary. Just scan your card when you get on the train, scan it when you get off. You can go all over the country this way, no bookings necessary. I couldn’t have even imagined this would be possible. It is so far out of the realm of American imagination. I know, I know, it is a big country- but y’all. Y’ALLLLLLLL!!! Why is it so hard and expensive to get anywhere??? Rant over (I am writing this under the influence of SENCHA and matcha sweets, so… I am a little wound up on caffeine!).
Long story short, it is so lovely to be a tourist in Japan and so easy to see so much of Japan even in just a few days. Every place we have been has been so charming, so beautiful.
After our shopping, we made our way to a restaurant in Uji owned and run by a friend of Christina. It was fusion food, but we enjoyed a fabulous “course” (basically a prix fixe) dinner, accompanied by Otousan, the owner’s father. That was pretty hilarious. He was very sweet and though his accent was difficult, he did speak more English than I speak Japanese! But it was just such a great time with our little crew. I feel very blessed by having such wonderful company.
Next up: Kyoto. Unfortunately, after a day of perfect weather came a rather rainy day. I am writing from a matcha café (thus being wound up on caffeine), where I just enjoyed the most exquisite matcha jellies with a molasses sauce and a pot of sencha. This is heaven. I am in the Nishiki market, not far from the station where Anna directed me and I am so proud of myself because I have a chronic fear of touristing alone, of going into eating places alone, especially in an unfamiliar culture. But look at me here, doing my thing! I have been in and out of a few shops and then when I found a place I wanted to stop, I committed with confidence! I even waited in a line. I ordered in Japanese. Werk.
I know there is surely so much to see in Kyoto, but for now, on this rainy day, I can’t complain about the bliss of this matcha cafe.
Marie on the Road
