Continuing, slowly and intermittently, to document our family holiday in Kyoto, here was a place we visited during the 50% of sunny weather that we had when we were in Japan. The sunshine was definitely a big plus since we could travel lighter without the need to bring rain coats. The photos looked nicer as well (see below).
We chose Byodoin (平等院) as it was supposed to be more off the beaten track for foreign tourist and likely to be less crowded. It is also located in Uji, a neighbouring city to Kyoto known for its green tea. The temple which means “Temple of Equality” was built in the Heian period as the residence for a powerful court official of the time Fujiwara no Michinaga.
Byodoin is not located in any of the bus routes within the centre but in Uji which is in the southeastern outskirts of Kyoto. Perhaps because of this, there appeared to be far more domestic tourists than foreign ones. Our little family of three was perhaps one of the handful of foreigners there when we visited. To get there from Kyoto required us to navigate the sprawling city-wide transit train system and to reckon with the not-easy-to-use ticketing machines. Thankfully, we managed to get the correct tickets for the Nara Line (see below) to Uji station.
The little one enjoyed taking trains back home and it was no different when we were on our Kyoto holiday. The 30 minute or so train ride was one of the highlights of this excursion for her. Getting off the train at Uji station, we just had to follow the crowd of locals making their way to Byodoin which was about 10 minutes to walk to.
We got there at around late morning with the rough plan that we would visit and have lunch after. Byodoin was not that crowded but there were quite a lot of visitors. Despite this, it was actually quite tranquil as the visitors were by and large quietly admiring the sprawling temple grounds. The grounds consisted of one central building surrounded by a moat and some other buildings.
Reading the room quite well, the little one was relatively well-behaved and quiet for the visit. There were other children there who were similarly rising to the occasion to preserve the peaceful atmosphere. It was probably a place in which she at most did not mind tagging along with Missus and me. It was more of a place to enjoy tranquillity — not something a young child could appreciate yet. We were thankful for Lil Miss and the other little ones allowing us to enjoy a peaceful visit.
After Byodoin, we wandered around the city of Uji. We started Grabbing a quick bite at a restaurant close by. Food was great but we were busy eating and did not take any photos — the way food should be enjoyed, with our mouths not camera phones… The restaurant was called 大阪屋食堂 (Osakaya Shido) — something I only found out later, haha.
Downstairs from the restaurant was a charming little row of shops in what looked like a mini Shotengai building with a sign that read, “大阪屋マーケット” (Osakaya Market). Got a photo of a drawing of the building.
The building mostly comprised of F&B businesses (floor map found online below) as well as small shops selling knickknacks. We went into one of them, “駄菓子屋 タイムスリップ” (Timeslip Candy Store) and the little one got a tiny rubber dinosaur costing 20 yen as a memento. One shop sells models of old Japanese houses made from tiny wooden slabs coloured dark grey as well as artistic photos. This occupied shop space 13 ー アートギャラリ「A＆M」(Art Gallery A&M).
After the quick visit Osakaya Market, we went to find a dessert shop in the vicinity. Since Uji is known for its green tea, we looked for desserts made from the local produce. We tried 抹茶共和国 (Matcha Republic) 宇治本店 which had soft serve matcha ice cream and matcha latte. Good stuff served in trademark Japanese kawaii style.
That’s it for another edition to the blog. Writing has been hard and slow. Have a few more articles left to write from our Kyoto holiday. Hope to get them out soon. Will end here with some photos of the little one wandering Uji below. Thanks for reading.
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