Uji contains the ethnic Korean enclave Utoro district, which was formed from forced laborers who were made to build an airstrip in Kyoto beginning in 1941.

[5][6] Per Japanese census data,[1] the population of Uji has recently plateaued after decades of strong growth.

Among the most famous are the Ujigami Shrine (built in 1060) and the Byōdō-in that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto".

Other religious sites include the Manpuku-ji, the head temple of the Ōbaku Zen sect, built in Chinese Ming style in 1661 and the Zen temple Kōshō-ji, with its Kotozaka entrance (framed with dense thickets of cherry, kerria, azalea, and maple trees, each of which dramatically changes color with the seasons) constructed in 1648.

Slightly upriver from Uji bridge, the Amagase Dam spans the river and day trippers can walk to its base in about an hour.

The route, which begins directly across from Keihan Uji Station, is along the river on a paved road and offers access to several grassy open spaces where people can rest and picnic.

Every August, Seicho-no-Ie holds a Memorial Festival (盂蘭盆供養大祭, Urabon kuyō taisai) (annual ancestor ceremony) at Uji Bekkaku Honzan (宇治別格本山), a special Seicho-no-Ie head temple located next to Hōzō Shrine (宝蔵神社, Hōzo Jinja) in Uji.

JR Uji station was, until a few years ago, fairly rural but was recently rebuilt to better serve the city.

Kintetsu serves West Uji with a line between Kyoto and Nara and does not have a station named for the town.

Uji is south of the main Meishin Expressway and is served directly by the Keiji Bypass, a toll road that was completed a few years ago.

This is a fairly rural road that leads through the mountains and, once away from the urban centers, makes a nice day trip.

Due to numerous accidents, the route is closed to motorcycles for most of August, when Japanese schools are typically out of session.