Rainy Day in Uji City, Uji, Japan

I wake up to a rainy morning in Kyoto. It's bed weather, but I didn't come here to sleep, did I? I get my butt off the bed and prepare for a day in Uji City, just a 20-minute train ride from Kyoto City. Why Uji? Because it has two UNESCO World Heritage sites: Byodo-in and Ujigami Jinja. And because I like matcha.

I arrive in Uji Station hungry. It's still raining. I haven't had breakfast yet. From the station I take a left and spot a convenience store, but there are no tables inside. I am not sure if the plastic tables outside, off to the left of the convenience store, are for convenience store customers, but I eat my boxed meal there anyway.

I study Google map and plot my route to Byodo-in. As I follow my chosen route, I find that it is through small roads in residential areas. I like it. It is quiet and peaceful. I take a few snapshots and just enjoy my surroundings, eventhough my shoes and socks are already soaking wet.

Byodo-in's Phoenix Hall was built in 1053. This building I have seen before...on a 10 yen coin. And now it is in front of me and I struggle to take a photo—it is difficult to operate a camera with two hands whilst keeping an umbrella steady between my cheek and my shoulder. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).