Wandering Fel

The first box that we have had wagyu beef (yummy!!!) and tamago inside it. It may not come from Kobe but the wagyu beef is good.

The second box looks prettier and it consists of so many things. Taste wise, I prefer the wagyu though. Hahaha. Beef-lover indeed.

We also bought some snacks to go with our meal. This snack from 7-11 is good! 

There are green teas and green tea crackers provided by the hotel in every rooms for the guests to enjoy. 

The best thing about staying in Botan room at Hanayashiki Ukifuneen Ryokan is the view that you get from your room. The room is facing the river and the sakura trees. Too bad the sakura trees have not bloomed yet when we came.

One last shot of Uji River before we left Kyoto for Osaka. 

Right inside the entrance, you are welcomed with Japanese culture of taking our your shoes and put on your slipper when you are entering someone else's house. It is quite fun to try to live in other country's culture when you are travelling.

We did not get our key until much later in the evening. After a day of wandering Gion, Philosopher's Path and Ginkakuji Temple, our room is finally ready. Yup, no fancy access card given to us. It's just one key to our lovely Botan room at Hanayashiki Ukifuneen.

We chose Botan room because it is advertised as the type of room with the best view of cherry blossom. But as you can see, the sakura trees are still pretty much dry because we came one week too soon. Nonetheless, there is no reason not to enjoy our lovely Botan room. The room is equipped with heater. 

A bathroom complete with the bathtub. I really enjoyed taking a hot bath here because they use fresh spring water from the mountain. The feeling of soaking yourself in a warm water after a day out in the cold is just priceless.

You don't have to worry about toiletries here. 

This is the bedroom and the bed is facing the direction of the cherry blossom trees along the river too. The beddings are very comfortable. I don't feel like waking up so early the next day, really. 

Our comfortable stay at Hanayashiki Ukifuneen does not come cheap, obviously. We spent around $400 for one night stay in Botan room. But I guess it's perfectly fine to pamper yourself once in a while. 

Well, I suppose Uji River is still nice to look at even though the sakura trees are not in full bloom yet. It gives out this tranquil and peaceful feeling just by looking at it. 

There is a bridge nearby our hotel, Hanayashiki Ukifuneen Ryokan Hotel, which connects our hotel side to the other side of Uji River. There is a temple located there but other than the temple, there were not many things to see as the other side of Uji River is kinda quiet. 

The bridge is popular with the tourists for photo-taking as you can take a nice shot of Uji River from here. 

The front side of Uji River which faces the mountainous area of Uji. Uji River is pretty big. If you are lucky, you can catch a flock of cranes looking for food here. I did not see any when I was here though. 

The back side of Uji River. Hmm not sure what are kept inside those black plastic bags. I wonder if they are garbage but I don't think Japanese put garbage on the river banks. Oh well. Not really important I guess. =P

The walk alongside Uji River is pretty enjoyable especially when the weather is good. Do give it a try when you are staying or visiting Uji. 

At both your left and right side, you will see shops selling food, drink and local products. Tourists are spotted as early as 10AM in the morning. Business in Uji starts pretty early, I guess. This is good news for us as we can go through the road with our luggages in tow (as we are still on our way to our accommodation in Uji, Hanayashiki Ukifuneen Ryokan Hotel) while checking out what Uji has to offer in terms of food.

Uji is famous in its local production of green teas. The green teas sold here has certain quality which cannot be found anywhere else. Most products sold in Uji definitely have green tea flavour. This store here sells green tea leaves (in different kinds). If you'd rather drink the tea straight away, you can also order one cup of iced green tea at 50 JPY. It tastes pretty refreshing. 

This particular ice cream store attracted us because there is a queue in front of the store. Judging from the ice cream statue, we guessed that the store specialises in green tea ice cream. 

We ordered the green tea ice cream which has the texture like soft served ice cream. However there is an additional touch to this cone of ice cream. Green tea powder is added on top of the ice cream. At the price of 300 JPY, this ice cream tastes superb. A must try if you are visiting Uji. 

Other than ice cream, the store also sells green tea powder and green tea leaves. Green tea lover rejoices! 

Fyi, the store next door sells green tea soba. I found it pretty interesting but we really have to continue our walk to our hotel, Hanayashiki Ukifuneen Ryokan Hotel, if we did not want to stuck with our luggages for ages. =P

We have booked one night stay at a Japanese style ryokan (re: traditional house) called Hanayashiki Ukifuneen. The hotel is located approximately 15 minutes walking from JR Uji Station (if you are not stopping at all). We were pretty much in dilemma of whether to take cab or just walk there because taking cab in Japan costs quite expensive. However, if we decided to go on foot, we did not really know where to walk even though we had Google Map (it shows you the fastest way but not really the most convenient way). In times of doubt, a visit to Tourist Information Center is what you are supposed to do. Thankfully, the information center is located right outside the exit of JR Uji Station. 

After getting direction (and assurance from the travel advisor that the distance is indeed walkable), we embarked on our journey from JR Uji Station to Hanayashiki Ukifuneen hotel with our luggage in tow. We arrived roughly around 10 in the morning and the small town of Uji is pretty much still not crowded yet. 

There are so many things to see and adore while you are wandering in a new place. First we made a stop to adore and take picture of the beautiful flower at the road side. 

Then we made a stop again near the Popcorn cart because it sells green tea popcorn. Oh wow. Too bad the seller is not anywhere in sight yet. #boo

Our walking route to Hanayashiki Ukifuneen involves walking alongside the Uji River. We made a stop to see the view of Uji from the side of the river. The bridge connecting the two sides of Uji is named Ujibashi Bridge. The unique design of Ujibashi Bridge has been featured in so many poems, novels and paintings of Japanese culture. 

Near to Ujibashi Bridge, there is a statue of Lady Murashaki Shikibu. She was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court during the Heian period. It was not easy for woman to excel in literature during those times so Lady Murashaki Shikibu is really an awesome lady. 

I don't think this whole journey-to-the-hotel can be done in 15 minutes if we keep making a stop to explore and taking pictures. But, we just could not resist. Hahaha.