Uji: the Phoenix Hall, the matcha capital, and the Nintendo Museum

Half an hour from Kyoto, the town on the coin: the Phoenix temple from 1053, drinking matcha where it has been grown for 800 years, the riverbank of 'The Tale of Genji', and the Nintendo Museum that opened in 2024, if you won the ticket lottery.

A day trip to Uji, the tea town, half an hour from Kyoto. You start at the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in, walk along the street of tea shops to a matcha lunch, cross the river by way of the islands to Ujigami Shrine and the Genji museum, ride one station to the Nintendo Museum in Ogura, and finish with dinner in Fushimi, on the way back to Kyoto. Until the afternoon everything is on foot, about 5 km along the river. The rides from Kyoto: ¥240 to Uji, ¥150 to Ogura, ¥240 to Fushimi and ¥300 back to Kyoto Station.

Verified online, September 20267 stops · 09:00 to 20:00¥10,900 · ≈ $69 per personWalking between stops: 71 min · Transport: ¥390Half-day trip from KyotoGood with kidsLottery for the Nintendo Museum

The day on a map

7 stops, in order

Stops: 7
Walking minutes: 33

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: You start at Byodo-in, about 10 minutes on foot from JR Uji Station or from Keihan Uji Station. From Kyoto: the JR Nara Line from Kyoto Station to Uji, 18 to 24 minutes, ¥240. From Gion and Kawaramachi: Keihan from Gion-Shijo, changing at Chushojima to the Uji Line, 32 minutes, ¥360. From Osaka: Keihan from Yodoyabashi or Kyobashi, changing at Chushojima, about an hour, ¥490 from Yodoyabashi and ¥480 from Kyobashi; or JR from Osaka Station with a change at Kyoto, about an hour, ¥960. For the Nintendo Museum get off at JR Ogura Station, one station after Uji, or at Kintetsu Ogura Station.

09:0010:30
Stop 1TempleMust
Byodo-in: the Phoenix Hall on the 10 yen coin
You start at the hall from 1053 that stands on a pond. It appears on the 10 yen coin, and the phoenix on its roof was on the previous 10,000 yen note. Entry to the garden and the Hoshokan museum is ¥700, and the inside of the hall is another ¥300, in 20-minute rounds that sell out, so register for a round the moment you enter. From 16 October 2026 each round takes 35 people and not 50, and in high season the wait is longer. With a ticket you can leave the garden and come back while you wait. In the museum are 52 statues of bodhisattvas playing music.
¥1,000 · ≈ $6For the round inside the hall, register at the entranceOpen in Maps
Out to the tea street
- Walk · 5 minThe approach street starts at the temple gate and runs along the river for about 500 meters, to Uji Bridge.
10:3011:30
Stop 2TeaRecommended
Byodo-in Omotesando Street: the tea shops of Uji
The temple's approach street is all tea: matcha fried in tempura, matcha ice cream, green tea soba, and powders to buy for home (¥1,000 for a good tin). At the eastern end of Uji Bridge sits Tsuen, which according to the company was founded in 1160 and is the oldest tea house in Japan. In summer they serve cold matcha there.
¥1,200 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
On to lunch
- Walk · 8 minCross Uji Bridge westward and continue along Ujibashi-dori, the old street of tea shops, to Nakamura Tokichi near the JR station. About 750 meters.
11:3012:30
Stop 3LunchRecommended
Lunch break in Uji
A tea lunch: in Uji you eat green matcha soba and matcha desserts, in the cafes of old tea companies. None of them takes reservations:
- Nakamura Tokichi, the main shopAbout ¥1,800
  A tea factory from 1854 that became a cafe, near JR Uji Station: matcha jelly in bamboo, parfait and green tea soba. The wait is 30 to 60 minutes: register at the machine at the entrance and wander around in the meantime. The cafe is open 10:00 to 17:30, and registration closes at 16:00.
- Nakamura Tokichi, Byodo-in branch
  The same company's cafe on the Byodo-in approach street, by the river. 10:00 to 17:00, last order 16:30.
- Itohkyuemon, near the JR station¥1,390 to ¥1,590
  The tea house of an Uji tea company, a minute from the south exit of JR Uji Station, with 70 seats. Matcha soba with beef and green onion ¥1,590, matcha parfait ¥1,390. 10:00 to 18:00, last order 17:30. Closed on 21 October 2026.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,800 · ≈ $11Register at the machine at the entranceOpen in Maps
Across the river
- Walk · 15 minHead back to the river through the Byodo-in approach street, cross a bridge to the island in the middle of the river, and from there another bridge to the east bank, then climb to the shrine. About 1.2 km.
12:4513:30
Stop 4RiverRecommended
Uji Bridge, the island, and Ujigami Shrine
The bridges and the island are part of the stop. In summer, July to September, there is cormorant fishing here in the evening, ¥2,300. Across the river stands Ujigami Shrine, considered the oldest Shinto building in Japan, from the 11th century. It is a World Heritage site, admission is free, and it is usually empty.
FreeOpen in Maps
On to the Genji museum
- Walk · 5 minAbout 300 meters north on the quiet path behind the shrine, to the museum.
13:3014:15
Stop 5MuseumIf there is time
The Tale of Genji Museum
The last ten chapters of 'The Tale of Genji', often called the world's first novel, from the year 1008, take place in Uji. A small museum with reconstructions and dolls, ¥600, for literature lovers. If it does not interest you, skip it and spend longer by the river.
¥600 · ≈ $4Open in Maps
Ride to the Nintendo Museum
- Train · 30 min · ¥150Walk about 17 minutes to JR Uji Station, back across Uji Bridge. The JR Nara Line south, one station, 2 minutes, to JR Ogura, and from the north exit it is 8 minutes on foot to the museum. According to the museum, you should come by public transport, not by taxi.
14:4517:45
Stop 6MuseumRecommended
Nintendo Museum: the old Hanafuda card factory
The museum opened in October 2024 in Nintendo's old factory in Ogura, where hanafuda cards were once made: every console ever released, and a games hall with giant controllers. ¥3,300 for an adult. Tickets are only available by lottery on the website, about 3 months ahead, so enter the moment you know your date. Without a ticket you do not get in, and there are no sales on site. The visit takes 3 hours.
¥3,300 · ≈ $21Lottery on the website 3 months ahead, no tickets on siteOpen in Maps
Ride to Fushimi for dinner
- Train · 25 min · ¥2405 minutes on foot to the east exit of Kintetsu Ogura Station. The Kintetsu Kyoto Line north, two stations, 6 minutes, to Momoyama-Goryomae, and from there about 8 minutes on foot among the breweries.
- or: Train · 30 min · ¥360If you are eating at Kyoto Station: from Kintetsu Ogura straight to Kyoto Station, with no change, 22 minutes.
18:3020:00
Stop 7DinnerRecommended
Dinner in Fushimi, on the way back
Ogura is on the Kintetsu line, which passes through Fushimi-Momoyama, so you stop for dinner in the brewery district on the way back to Kyoto. From here you return: to Kyoto Station on Kintetsu from Momoyama-Goryomae, 11 minutes, ¥300; to Gion on Keihan from Chushojima, 12 minutes, ¥320; to Osaka on Keihan from Chushojima to Kyobashi and Yodoyabashi, ¥460. If you are going straight on to Kyoto Station, 22 minutes from Ogura, eat there. The options:
- Torisei HontenAbout ¥3,500
  An izakaya inside the Yamamoto Honke brewery: chicken skewers over charcoal and fresh sake from the cask. 11:00 to 22:00, closed on Mondays. No reservations, and there is a line in the evening.
- Kizakura Kappa Country
  The restaurant of the Kizakura brewery, with the brewery's own beer and sake. Evenings 17:00 to 21:30, closed on Tuesdays, so it is the alternative on Mondays, when Torisei is closed.
- Fushimi Sakagura Koji
  A covered alley with nine food stalls and a sake bar with a tasting set from the 18 breweries of Fushimi. 11:00 to 22:00, with no fixed closing day, but each stall keeps its own hours.
- Ramen Koji, Kyoto Station
  If you are going straight to Kyoto Station: a ramen street on the 10th floor of the station building, ten ramen shops from different regions of Japan. 11:00 to 22:00, last order 21:30.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥3,000 · ≈ $19Open in Maps

Uji: the Phoenix Hall, the matcha capital, and the Nintendo Museum

7 stops, in order

Byodo-in: the Phoenix Hall on the 10 yen coin

Byodo-in Omotesando Street: the tea shops of Uji

Lunch break in Uji

Uji Bridge, the island, and Ujigami Shrine

The Tale of Genji Museum

Nintendo Museum: the old Hanafuda card factory

Dinner in Fushimi, on the way back

Kurama and Kibune: a walk on the tengu's mountain, the water shrine, and a meal above the stream

Kids' day in Kyoto: the Railway Museum, the Aquarium, To-ji and Kyoto Tower

Walking Kyoto's eastern hills: from Ginkaku-ji to Gion via the Philosopher's Path

Fushimi Inari: the torii gates at sunrise, Tofuku-ji and the sake district

Higashiyama: Kiyomizu-dera in the morning, the Sannenzaka lanes, and Gion in the evening

Arashiyama: the bamboo grove at sunrise, Tenryu-ji, monkeys and the Romantic Train