Unesco Heritage & Tea Ceremony/matching Making Walking Tour

This was a fantastic tour to get a well rounded experience in Uji. Our guide Joseph Haydn Arcila Amaya was very knowledgeable about both the history of our stops and general information about Kyoto and Uji, including recommendations for lunch and grabbing matcha or hojicha after the tour. The tea ceremony was also an incredible experience to witness and enjoy.

Excellent history and showcase of uji. Would highly recommend

Our tour guide Naoke went above and beyond! His knowledge of the area, history, culture and religion was excellent. He communicated clearly and in detail. He gave us the time to take it all in and ask questions. He guided us at the temples. He even took our photos. I would highly recommend him. It has been the highlight of our trip so far. Jacky and Ellie, Australia 🇦🇺 😊

Maksym was very knowledgeable and passionate. We got a great sense of Uji, and enjoyed the tea ceremony

It was so much fun! She was informative and thorough, the tea ceremony was amazing! Also, the two UNESCO world heritage sites were must-visits!

Fun tour, nicely paced, good introduction to Uji. Akiko is an outstanding guide--articulate, knowledgeable, and patient. She gave us additional recommendations, based on our interests, marking them on a map that she provided. Highly recommended!

Katz was an amazing tour guide who had so much knowledge about matcha and the history of Japan. He was even able to translate for us during the tea ceremony, offering the symbolism and meaning behind each action. I would highly recommend him for any English speaking tourist ready to learn the secrets and history of shrines, temples, and ceremonies in Japan!

Dineth was calm, gentle and relaxed, and particularly patient fielding our many questions. He was relatively new to being a tour guide but was well versed in the history of Uji and took the time to source answers if needed. Booked for a 3 hour small group tour we were fortunate to be the only ones so we basically had a private tour that was memorable and full of photo and learning opportunities. Note the tea ceremony is run through the cultural centre and was nicely done however would recommend doing a similar tour with a private tea ceremony for more authentic cultural immersion. On the whole, we enjoyed spending the half day with Dineth at a relaxed pace and absolutely loved the beauty of Uji, the fantastic museum, the exquisite Byodoin Temple and the beautiful grounds.

Joseph (Josephu) was excellent. We really enjoyed his enthusiasm, candid style, and depth of knowledge. He did a great job connecting language, culture, history, and religion so everything we experienced in Uji felt richer and more meaningful. He clearly came prepared and provided excellent context throughout the tour. Uji itself was a wonderful surprise. It is a charming town that feels a bit removed from the usual Tokyo and Kyoto tourist trail. A part of us almost hesitates to write this review because we hope it stays that way. The visit to Byōdō-in was a highlight. The temple is beautiful, and the history behind it made it even more memorable. The tea ceremony was also special, especially once you understand the history, symbolism, and intentions behind why Japanese culture turned drinking tea into something so refined and ceremonial. Our one suggestion for improvement would be to include a bit more education about matcha itself: how it is grown, produced, graded, and what makes different matcha experiences unique. Overall, this was one of our favorite experiences in Japan and a great way to understand Uji beyond just seeing the sights.

The guide was great. Went with my mother and the guide was patient and took their time. Also gave us a ton of great recommendations for the rest of our trip.

The tour was great! Our tour guide was really nice and spoke great English. Highly recommend this for anyone hoping to see some historical sites and get a nice tea ceremony experience.

Our tour was fantastic and I would highly recommend this tour to everyone going to the Kyoto/Osaka area! Claudia was our tour guide and she was absolutely wonderful. She messaged us on WhatsApp a few minutes before the start time to let us know she arrived, shortly after we met her at the exact location indicated on the booking notes. Claudia was very knowledgeable about the history of Uji, the Byodo-In Temple, Matcha tea, and everything in between. She also was very helpful at answering other questions we had about Kyoto and Japan. The tea ceremony was very memorable and we loved getting to make it ourselves! Highly recommend!

The tea ceremony was amazing and beautiful as was the shrine. Eloise put up with all my photos and it was a lovely day

Excellent tour! Absolutely loved Uji - would absolutely recokmend taking a day trip or half day trip when in Kyoto. Was very cool walking around and seeing several historical sites. Also enjoyed the tea ceremony. Shingo was awesome and took lots of pictures for us too!

Very informative and guide is very friendly and knowledgeable. We would have been lost without him. We were appreciative of the area as he explained to us in details the significance of each of the attractions. My daughter enjoyed very much the tea ceremony

Naoki was a fantastic guide to explore Uji with. The tour was paced right while covering a lot of ground (and info). Naoki also gave several great suggestions for matcha places to visit afterwards.

This was such a great tour. We especially loved the Boyodoin Museum and temple. Our guide Nobumasa Myake was wonderful and knowledgeable. I appreciated hearing the history of the temple and the area.

We met Katsuhiko promptly at the meeting point, there was excellent communication before the tour. We learned a lot during the tour and it was well timed with our group with children. We learned a lot of things that we were able to use on the rest of our trip in Japan about temples and shrines. It was a perfect time to do the tour in November with the fall leaves changing colours. We were able to see many less trafficked areas with this tour and learn about the rich history. Highly recommended!

Very friendly guide. full of interesting information!! Uji is a must visit for matcha tea lovers. lots of shops selling matcha and sencha. I had a great day!

My mom and I had a great time in Uji with our guide, Raphael. The tour was well planned with a comfortable pace and good selection of locations. Raphael was very friendly and a pleasure to talk to! He gave us a lot of insight we would have missed had we travelled on our own. We particularly appreciated all the interesting facts he shared about Byodoin Temple and how its interior has changed over time. The tea ceremony was lovely, and the ladies who hosted it were so sweet. We highly recommend this tour!

The tea ceremony party was very short. The rest of it was seeing the area, including temple and museum, and the guide was great!

The tour guide was friendly, very informative and interesting to talk to since he knew a lot. I would certanly recommend!

Nobumasa Miyake was absolutely wonderful! He was very knowledgeable and also took the time to explain everything with ease. We took a heavier walking tour, but it went by quickly as our guide was so informative and fun! We recommend Miya without any hesitation!

Matsui was very knowledgeable. We enjoyed our tour of the temple and the tea ceremony. He was our favorite tour guide in Japan.

It was a very interesting and informative tour in a beautiful area. Definitely recommend this tour. Our guide was great, the tea ceremony was nice and I appreciated the other beautiful stops. Thank you!

Amazing insights to the UNESCO heritage sites. Be prepared to walk but it’s worth while. Our guide is Mr Miyake, is great. He’s 77 years old able to bring us around effortlessly. I’m amazed. Highly recommended. Even the tea ceremony is interesting.

Tour guide was very knowledgeable, funny and very kind. We learned a lot during the tour, both history and culture.

This tour of Uji was perfect! We were hoping to find a tour that would teach us a bit about the Uji history of tea, as well as history of the town and we were not disappointed. Our guide, Maru, was insightful and made our tour a lot fun. Highly recommend this for anyone staying in/ around Kyoto area who wants to see another town and wants to learn about Uji.

The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. I’m very happy to comeback even. The trip included one of the most interesting temples in my trip.

Yoshi was a great tour guide and we really enjoyed the tea ceremony. Definitely encourage everyone to experience this.

It was a very informative, fun tour with Katz. He translated the entire tea ceremony and showed us the shops that we could buy matcha. We visited a temple and shrines and he explained the difference between the two. He also recommended a ramen place so we could taste the difference between ramen from Tokyo and ramen from Kyoto. Overall it was an awesome experience and I would highly recommend the tour and Katz as a tour guide.

Wonderful tour with Katsuhiko!! The fall was the perfect time to explore Uji. Katsuhiko was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Naoki is perfectly bilingual English which facilitates exchanges. He is committed to explaining Japanese culture in a spirit of openness to others. He is a very beautiful person who we can guess has many things to pass on. We spent a very rewarding morning with him. Thank you Naoki!