Ujitawara Town

Sencha spreader's thatched birthplace.

Nagatani Soen Birthplace, Hoiro

Photo by Hunini (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Kakiya

A rack built on a harvested paddy,taken down at the end of December.

宇治田原町の柿屋.JPG — Photo by Hunini (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A kakiya is a straw-roofed rack for drying korogaki persimmons. In early to mid-November, a frame of round logs is raised in a harvested paddy and the roof is thatched with straw. Wind passes through the roof as peeled persimmons dry for about 15 to 20 days, and the kakiya comes down at the end of December. The prefecture presents korogaki dried in a kakiya as found "only here in Japan".

Built in early to mid-November
Dried for 15 to 20 days
Taken down at the end of December

02 ／ Zenjoji Temple

Founded in 991, revived in 1680as a Soto Zen temple.

Zenjoji Temple was founded in 991, and in 1680 the monk Gesshu revived it as a Soto temple. The town's tourism site calls its main hall and guest hall the town's largest thatched-roof building. The standing eleven-headed Kannon is 286.4 cm tall. Made in 991 and thought to be the original main image, it was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1936. The temple lies in a prefectural historic natural environment conservation area.

Founded in 991
Eleven-headed Kannon, 286.4 cm
Important Cultural Property, 1936

03 ／ Otaki Festival

Eels are given sacred sakeand released from the top of the falls.

Every 1 September the Otaki Festival is held at the Otaki waterfall in Yuyadani. It is held for a good harvest and protection from disasters: a water deity is honoured at the falls, and three eels are given sacred sake and released into the pool from above. The eels are said to rise to the heavens and call the clouds, so the rite is also regarded as a prayer for rain. The falls became a town scenic site in 1981.

1 September
Three eels
Town scenic site, 1981

Living here

No station here; 25 minutes by bus from Uji.

about 9,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town. From JR Uji Station, a Kyoto Keihan Bus reaches Ichumae in about 25 minutes, and from there the town's Ujitawa-LIKE Heart Bus runs to the town office. The town was formed in 1956, when Tawara Village and Ujitawara Village merged.

People living here: 8,911people
Area: 58.16km²
Households: 3,421households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 4 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Ujitawara Town in Japan34.845°N 135.868°E

to UjiLocal bus25min

Travel times follow 京都京阪バスの公式の経路検索（京阪グループバスの総合検索 busnavi.keihanbus.jp のモバイル版）で、ＪＲ宇治駅→維中前［宇治田原ＢＣ］を 2026-10-09（金）と 2026-10-11（日）の0時台・9時台・13時台・17時台・21時台から検索した（各8便・計40便ずつ）。どの便も乗り換えなしの立場線（180・182・184・和束急行線178・奥山田正寿院口線186〈宇治茶バス〉）で、ＪＲ宇治駅→維中前は金・日とも25分だけ。ＪＲ宇治駅発は金曜が 9:34・10:34・11:34・13:34・14:34・15:34 … 21:32、日曜も同じ間隔で毎日運転 (checked 2026-10-08). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Ujitawara Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

8.9km

Kyoto Prefecture: 和束町, 宇治市, 城陽市, 井手町, 久御山町
Shiga Prefecture: 大津市, 甲賀市

Ujitawara Town isthis kind of town.

01A list of Japan Heritage components says that at Yuyadani, Nagatani Soen's birthplace, home of the man who spread the aosei sencha method, keeps the furnace site essential to that method just as it was; the thatched house was rebuilt in 1960
02According to the town's tourism site, the main hall and guest hall of Zenjoji Temple are the town's largest thatched-roof building, and its treasure hall holds an Important Cultural Property eleven-headed Kannon; in winter, straw-roofed kakiya for drying persimmons stand in the fields
03At the Otaki Festival on 1 September, three eels given sacred sake are released into the pool of the Otaki waterfall; the town also has Mikurusu Shrine, which sent chestnuts to the imperial court until 1887, and the gate of the town's first school

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ujitawara Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗