Euphonium's Uji: the band anime's river, bridges and hilltop above the tea town

Uji is usually sold as a tea town, under half an hour south of Kyoto by JR, with Byōdō-in printed on the ten-yen coin. To people who watch Euphonium (in full, Hibike Yūfoniamu), the Kyoto Animation series about a high-school concert band, it is also where the characters practise, argue and walk home along the river.

The bridges and the island between them

Start at Keihan Uji Station and cross Uji Bridge, where the early episodes linger on the green, fast water. Downstream, the vermilion Asagiri Bridge (朝霧橋, Asagiri-bashi) leads to Tachibana-jima (橘島), a narrow island whose riverside steps appear again and again. The benches are public and the path is wide, so this is the easiest place to stand inside the frame without standing in anyone's way.

The climb to Daikichiyama

The best-known scene takes place on Daikichiyama (大吉山), a wooded hill above Ujigami Shrine. A signed path climbs for about twenty minutes to a small wooden observation deck that looks back over the river and the town. In the series, two girls carry a euphonium and a trumpet up here on the night of the Agata Festival in early June. The path is steep but well kept. It is unlit after dark, so bring a torch and start down well before the last train.

宇治川の音を聞きながら、大吉山の展望台まで歩いてみる。

Keeping the town a town

Keihan, the railway that ends here, has run themed trains and stamp rallies for the series, and visitors are plainly expected. Any school you think you recognise is still a working school, though, and the studio is an office, not a stop. Photograph the river, the bridges and the deck, buy your tea on the approach to Byōdō-in, and keep your voice low in the lanes behind the shrine.