Derek: The region of Uji, on the south eastern edge of Kyoto, is a center for the growing of tea in Japan. The formal tea ceremony is one of the bits of Japanese culture which everyone seems to be aware of, but the details about both the ceremony and matcha tea were a bit superficial to us. Uji provided the perfect chance to learn a bit more.
The Marukyu Koyamaen company handles a significant percentage of all matcha produced in the area and offers a tour of their Makishima factory. We traveled out by local train and caught a taxi to the factory. We were joined by three other tourists, shown a video about the growing and processing techniques, then walked around the facility.
The tea bushes are grown under full sun for most of the year, then shaded just as new growth develops. These shoots stay pale green and produce less bitterness than those grown under sun. For the highest grades of matcha the shade structures are use bamboo and straw to avoid having plastic over the plants. The new shoots are harvested and quickly transported to be coarsely cut and dried. At this point bags of the dried leaves are put in wooden crates and can be stored for several months before being processed. We saw bags of dried leaves being poured into a machine which removed the large stems, then the thin central ribs of leaves, and finally fragments of dead (brown) leaf and straw leaving only the desirable green pieces. These were then transported upstairs to an entire room full of stone grinding wheels. The granite grinders are essentially the same ones which could be hand turned and each had a pattern of grooves chiseled in to crush the leaf fragments into fine powder. The grinders operate nearly continuously but only produce a few hundred grams of matcha a day. It is essential that they stay cool through the process so rotate at 50 RPM and are kept air-conditioned.
We then were shown how both the dried green leaf tea and matcha powder are tested for taste and color. The guide showed us each how to make matcha using the bamboo chasen whisk and chawan bowl. It’s very straightforward, basically just add matcha powder, nearly boiling water, and whisk. The only part that’s pointed out repeatedly is to whisk with a forward and backward pattern resembling an “M” or “W” rather than circularly. Once all the powder is mixed in and a foam forms you’re done.
We did this and it was indeed tasty. The tour wrapped up with a chance to browse their gallery of displays which were mainly about the company and their many awards but also had examples of many styles of tea whisks and other items.
We left the factory and went into the town of Uji. We ate at Tsubameya and had soba (made with matcha in the dough) and tempura (with a salt and matcha powder dip) and a glass of water with a little matcha mixed in, catch a theme? Charis visited a pottery store which uses a local pink clay and I went to the Uji Shinto shrine. It turns out I should have continued a block further and would have visited Ujigami Shrine, the oldest remaining (non-rebuilt) Shinto shrine in Japan!
A bridge crosses the Uji river to a narrow island and then again to the main town. We went to the Taihoan tea house run by the Uji city as part of their tourism information service. They have a short and approachable version of the tea ceremony and offer either to host you for a cup of tea or to explain the ceremony and then guide you in making a cup yourself. We, and a language exchange student from Taiwan, had the full explanation and made cups. Finding a tea ceremony experience in Japan is very easy, but I think we did well in finding something earnest and genuine. The host was a friendly woman who met us on our level and made us feel very welcome as respectful newbies.
Just a few steps away from the tea house is the Byodoin temple, with the Phoenix Hall recognizable from the back of the 10 yen coin.
Charis: Back in Kyoto the next day we headed out to a class at Sashiko Lab, a lovely little atelier in a quiet residential area of Kyoto. This was an introductory class where Kazue taught us the basics of sashiko, a traditional form of embroidery given to functional as well as decorative uses. It originated as a way to connect layers of thin fabric to make a warmer, thicker fabric but was also used on firefighters’ clothing, which would be submerged in water and the sashiko stitching would absorb more water to improve protection.
We started by stitching a small coaster, but after the class we went for a further wander and found a 4 story craft shop with loads of further sashiko supplies, leading to these two further pieces! It’s a very relaxing craft and the geometrical patterns are very pleasing.
I also managed to finish up a granny square cross body bag (pictured here already a bit roughed up with use!) but had a bit of trouble with the strap – creating it from a foundation chain meant one edge of the strap was a tighter than the other edge, and all the pressure came through that one edge instead of evenly across the width. If anyone knows a quick and easy way to make a smooth/regular strap without this issue, please let me know!
Further wanderings in Kyoto took us to Everysoy, a cafe based around soy products that had some of the freshest and creamiest soy milk we’d ever tried. We’ve got so used to the cheap cartons of soy milk back home it’s always interesting to try something made at the source, with the culture and experience behind it to make it truly tasty. We also enjoyed a slice of tiramisu with the best whipped soy cream I’ve ever tried – something to aspire to!
We passed back through Nishiki market, a bustling food market with a beautiful stained glass roof and also stopped at Kuradai Miso – a miso shop that looked like an ice cream shop, with long bars of different types of miso available of different ages, maturation techniques and base grain/pulse. Again, so fascinating to see such a depth and variety of flavours in something we can get in ‘red’ or ‘white’ at home.
Derek: Shinto shrines usually have a ceremony and celebration once a year on the day of their founding. The Hirano shrine‘s ceremony was advertised in an events flyer at the reception of our accommodation. The shrine is set in a park with over 500 cherry trees, sadly we aren’t here in the right season for that to be fully appreciated, but the ceremony is an evening of traditional music and performances. Hundreds of paper lanterns lined the walkways and entrances and surprisingly the attendance wasn’t too crowded, maybe 150 people total. The first music was a group of women playing Koto, kind of a lap harp. They were followed by individual and group dancers and singers being accompanied by drums and Shamisen. Finally a line of maiko and a geisha performed dances with fans and scarves. Some of the music was very strange and tonally different from anything I’d heard outside of eastern Asia, while more “popular” songs included even a piece of Studio Ghibli music.
We’d finally run out of time in Kyoto so packed our bags, stashed them in the train station lockers, and had a last stroll through the central markets to get coffee. 2050 was a fun discovery, with cold brew oat milk latte and matcha lattes on tap! I’d also been thinking that I’d made a mistake walking away from a jacket in Tokyo and Charis convinced me I couldn’t walk past it a second time, so I’ve got it now! I’m thinking of adding sashiko stitched decorations on the shoulders.
Charis: We landed in Nara and took a stroll around the Kofuku-ji temple complex just to the east of the main town. This was our first glimpse of the many deer Nara is famous for, who are completely unbothered by humans, unless of course you’re carrying deer wafers!
Along the main street in town was Nakatanidou – a mochi shop where you could watch the traditional process of pounding the glutinous rice flour as well as enjoy a warm kinako (roasted soy bean powder) covered mochi fresh off the assembly line.
The Isuien Garden and Neiraku Museum are on the edge of the Nara park, demonstrating mainly ancient ceramic art of Japanese and Korean heritage for the museum, and a beautifully curated garden with multiple water features, lanterns, shrines and, of course, a koi pond.
Derek: Continuing into the park proper there are Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, independently receiving UNESCO World Heritage status. The Kasuga Taisha shrine is 1300 years old and it is extremely popular as a tourist destination thanks in large part to the hundreds of stone lanterns around it and lining the path to it from the front of the park. If you approach from the south though there is a very quiet trail through the woods which visits many of the associated smaller shrines including Kinryu, dedicated to a gold dragon deity.
From Kasuga Taisha the walk leads back towards the main area of the park and passes the Manyo Botanical Gardens which were nice, but not particularly beautiful this season. It had many wisteria walkways which must be amazing around May when they flower. It did have a nice lake with an inaccessible island and dock. Continuing on there’s a large open green and several lakes where the deer were bathing to cool off.
The main temple in this area is Tōdai-ji, known for it’s 16m bronze statue of Buddha. This wooden building is simply enormous and was finished in 751 CE with around 2.6 million people contributing to its creation and 350,000 directly involved. The Buddha is guarded by two deities, Komokuten and Bishamonten (photo on the right, remember this name for next week!). The scale probably doesn’t come across in the photos, these were very impressive figures!
South of the park entrance is a townhouse called Naramachi Nigiwai-no-le built in 1917 by/for a tradesman and preserved/restored to that era. I found it interesting to compare to the older buildings in Magome Juku and the more wealthy Tokyo city councilor’s home. The garden was more modest and the entire house smaller, but truly beautiful and very practically arranged.
We had chosen to come to Nara these particular days due to the Uneme Matsuri festival which held once a year to soothe the spirit of a serving woman of the imperial court who drowned herself in the Sarusawa pond in the 9th or 10th centuries. We watched a parade of priests and what seemed to be people imitating the imperial court pass by.
Charis: Some of it was a bit hard to follow, but there was a beautiful flute solo by a lady in a boat to kick things off that was very enjoyable! The imperial court members then got into two boats and slowly sailed around the lake twice with fire, fog, lights, and music.
The following day we got back on the train, this time headed for Osaka!