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  • Located in the mountains northeast of central Kyoto, Hieizan is a deeply revered mountain

  • on which Enryakuji, the head temple of the influential Tendai Buddhist sect, is built on.

  • Founded over 1200 years ago, Enryakuji is one of the most important temples in the history

  • of Japan, and today, the active mountain temple is an attractive destination for visitors

  • wanting to learn more about Buddhist culture.

  • On this trip, we will be spending two days exploring Hieizan and the vibrant tea and

  • sake cultures in Uji and Fushimi in southern Kyoto.

  • My name is Raina Ong, staff writer for japan-guide.com, and for the next two days, I'll be visiting

  • Hieizan, Uji and Fushimi on an overnight trip.

  • Here's the plan.

  • On Day One, we land at Kansai International Airport and travel by train all the way to

  • the foot of Mount Hieizan.

  • We continue on the cable car and ropeway up the mountain.

  • There are three separate areas of Enryakuji Temple: Yokawa, Saito and Todo.

  • We will take a shuttle bus to Yokawa, the northern area, and hike towards the west area

  • known as Saito, and the east area known as Todo to visit the attractions there.

  • The day ends with a stay at the temple lodging on Hieizan.

  • On Day Two, after participating in the morning prayers, we descend the mountain and head

  • to the tea town of Uji, south of Kyoto, to learn more about tea culture as well as visit

  • the local temples along the way.

  • Finally, we end the day at Kyoto's Fushimi district with a sake experience and dinner.

  • So follow along as we go on a 2-day trip exploring mountains, tea and sake around Kyoto.

  • Day 1

  • After landing at the airport, we forward our suitcase to the hotel in Kyoto where we will

  • be staying afterwards to avoid having to carry extra luggage on this overnight trip.

  • Then, we take the train to our destination for the day, Hieizan.

  • Our hike from Yokawa to the Saito and Todo areas takes about 2 to 3 hours, including

  • visiting the temple buildings along the way.

  • This tree over here it's called the Gyokutaisugi and it's about the midway point between where we started

  • in Yokawa and our next destination Saito.

  • It's a great place for a rest and we get to enjoy great views of Kyoto on the other side.

  • The Shakado you can see behind me is the oldest building on the mountain.

  • And it houses a wooden Shaka Buddha carved by Saicho, the founder of Tendai Buddhism.

  • I'm going to be heading into the Konpon Chudo,

  • as you can see it's completely covered up but visitors are still allowed to go inside, so let's go!

  • One of the interesting things you're going to experience when staying at a temple lodging

  • is eating Buddhist cuisine which is completely vegetarian.

  • And that's what I'm going to do! Itadakimasu!

  • Day 2

  • Good morning, it's really cold outside

  • and I've gotten up early to go for morning prayers in the Konpon Chudo behind me.

  • Now, these prayers are only available to those who stay overnight on the mountain. So let's go!

  • After the morning prayers and breakfast, we descend the mountain and head towards Uji

  • by Keihan Railway.

  • Our first stop is Mampukuji Temple, the head temple of the Obaku Zen sect.

  • My first stop for today is Mampukuji Temple near Uji.

  • This temple is the headquarters of the Obaku Zen Sect which was established about 300 years ago

  • by a Chinese Zen master.

  • And as such you can see a lot of Chinese influence in the temple design.

  • The city of Uji is well known for its high quality green tea, and there are numerous

  • tea shops selling Uji tea as well as green tea products.

  • Our first stop is Byodoin Temple, and its grounds includes a beautiful garden with the

  • Phoenix Hall at its center and an excellent museum.

  • Next we head to Nakamura Tokichi, a shop that has been run by the same family for generations.

  • Uji is known for its tea and I'm here now at the Nakamura Tokichi shop in Uji

  • where I'm going to have the full tea experience.

  • Tea lunch and then desserts, and then we get to make some tea.

  • 10 out of 5 stars! I like it!

  • A tea leaf grinding activity followed by a tea ceremony is offered at their main store

  • in Uji, with explanations provided by an English speaking tea instructor.

  • And that's what I'm going to do.

  • Finally, we take the Keihan train from Uji to Fushimi.

  • Our last destination for today is the Fushimi Sakagura Kouji, a collection of eight food

  • stalls and a sake bar all under one roof.

  • This unique dining and drinking experience here allows visitors to sample sake from about

  • 20 sake breweries and order a variety of dishes that go well with the alcohol.

  • Best way to end the trip!

  • I've come to the end of my trip and there's no better way than to end it here at the Fushimi Sakagura Koji

  • Now here I get to try18 different sake from the breweries and order food, like, different kinds of food

  • from the different food stands.

  • It's gonna be great and I can't wait to dig in!

  • And that concludes our 2-day trip to Hieizan, Uji and Fushimi.

  • Thanks for joining me.

  • I hope this video has been enjoyable and perhaps even inspires some ideas, should you decide

  • to plan an overnight trip from Kansai Airport.

  • For more information or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head

  • to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive up-to-date travel guide first hand from Japan.

  • Thanks for watching, be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell for more videos about Japan.

  • Happy travels.

Located in the mountains northeast of central Kyoto, Hieizan is a deeply revered mountain

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