Amanohashidate and Uji Tea: The Reach of Kyoto Prefecture

Amanohashidate, a scenic spot on the Sea of Japan

Amanohashidate, one of the Three Views of Japan, is in Miyazu City in northern Kyoto Prefecture.

Tea culture rooted in Uji

Uji is known as one of Japan's leading tea-growing areas, and Uji tea underpins Kyoto's food culture.

The priest Myōe Shōnin is said to have brought tea to Uji in the Kamakura period.

Kyoto sweets nurtured by water

The long presence of the imperial court, the gathering of fine ingredients, and abundant groundwater all supported the development of kyōgashi, Kyoto's traditional confectionery.

A prefecture long and narrow from north to south

The prefecture borders the Sea of Japan and Fukui Prefecture to the north, Osaka and Nara prefectures to the south, Mie and Shiga prefectures to the east, and Hyōgo Prefecture to the west. It is long and narrow from north to south, and the Tanba Highlands in the middle divide its climate: the north has a Sea of Japan–type climate and the south an inland climate.

The coast of the Tango and Chūtan regions in the north is a ria coast, with scenic spots and natural harbors. Most of the middle of the prefecture is mountainous; from the Tanba Highlands, water divides into the Katsura River and Yura River systems, and small basins such as the Kameoka and Fukuchiyama basins are scattered about. In the south, the Katsura, Uji, and Kizu rivers meet, and the Yamashiro Basin spreads out.

The abundance of mountains shows in the numbers too. The prefecture's forest ratio is 74.2% (2020), above the national average of 66.4%.

26 municipalities: which is the largest?

The prefecture has 26 municipalities: 15 cities, 10 towns, and 1 village. The prefecture covers 4,612.21 km² (as of October 1, 2024), of which Kyoto City is the largest at 827.83 km².

After Kyoto City, the largest are Nantan City in the central part of the prefecture and Fukuchiyama City in the north. Nantan City's forest ratio is 87.9%, the highest in the prefecture. At the other end, the smallest city is Mukō City at 7.72 km², and including towns and villages, the smallest is Ōyamazaki Town at 5.97 km². Large municipalities are mostly in the mountainous north and center, while small cities and towns are clustered south of Kyoto City.

A closer look at Amanohashidate and Uji tea

Amanohashidate is a sandbar 3.6 km long, made up of Ōhashidate, Kohashidate, and Daini Kohashidate. About 5,000 pine trees with trunks 10 cm or more in diameter line it, and in November 1952 it was designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. On the sandbar are Amanohashidate Shrine and Iso-shimizu, a spring listed among Japan's 100 Best Waters.

As for Uji tea in the south, Kyoto Prefecture is seeking World Cultural Heritage inscription for "the Cultural Landscape of Uji Tea" in the Yamashiro region. The Yamashiro region is regarded as the "home of Japanese tea," where tea brought from China was cultivated and technical innovations gave rise to matcha, sencha, and gyokuro; the component sites cover 18 districts in 8 municipalities (as of March 2026).