Uji is blessed with beautiful scenery centering on the Uji River, which has flowed for over a thousand years, and a rich historical and cultural heritage, including Ujigami Shrine and Byodoin Temple, which were registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites in December 1994. Uji has always been a center of Japanese history, sometimes as the scene of warfare and at other times as a cultural center.

It is also the setting for the world’s oldest full-length love story, “The Tale of Genji” (Uji 10 chapters), which was described in “Nihon Shoki” and “Manyoshu” as early as ancient times.

In addition to the shrines and temples associated with the Tale of Genji, numerous historical and cultural assets representing each period of Japanese history, such as Manpukuji Temple, the head temple of the Zen and Őbaku school of Buddhism, and Mimuroto-ji, the tenth temple of the 33 sacred places in the western part of the country, bring the breath of each period to the present.

It is also famous as a production center of Uji tea, which is synonymous with high quality tea, and has a tea house called “Taihoan” operated by the city, which is rare in Japan. Located along the Uji River in a beautifully landscaped area, visitors can enjoy Uji tea served in a traditional tea house with authentic tea ceremony.