Uji

Andrew and I had planned to go to Nara today but in the spirit of doing things spontaneously, we decided to accept an invitation to go with some friends to Uji, a small town about 30 minutes south of Kyoto.  Uji, land of green tea.  We enjoyed green tea soft ice cream with macha powder shaken on top and stopped into a cafe for premium macha, mochi sweets, and azuki (red bean) soup with mochi in it.  We also visited the beautiful temple of Byodo-in, with artifacts from 1000 years ago when it was first built.

We walked along the river of this quiet town and happened upon some pictures of fire with birds before stumbling upon the actual birds sleeping through the day in a little pen.  After a little googling I discovered that they are part of the cormorant fishing that takes place in Uji in the summer.  Fishermen hold metal baskets of fire over the side of the boast to attract fish to the surface.  The birds swoop down to catch them, the metal rings around their necks prohibiting them from partaking in their bounty.  It looks quite incredible and I'm thinking to make a return trip this summer to this beautiful and delicious little town.

bell in Byodo-in temple

river lined with fishing/party boats used in cormorant fishing

picture of cormorant fishing

sleeping birds, waiting for the winter to pass

tea by the river

zenzai, azuki soup with mochi and a small dish of salty seaweed

premium macha and green tea mochi