Day Tour of Kyoto Temples| Kinkakuji to Ginkakuji

Kinkakuji is perhaps the most well-known temple in Japan. What makes it different from other temples is the main hall of  Kinkaku-ji covered in brilliant gold leaf, shining above its reflecting pond.

 

▪ Japan's best known temple.

▪ Kinkakuji is located in northwest Kyoto.

▪ A World Heritage Site.

▪ Covered in gold leaf.

▪ Burnt to the ground by a mad monk in 1950.

▪ The Golden Pavilion is a must see.

▪ Setting for Yukio Mishima novel.

 

Visitors enter through the Chumon Gate along a pretty path shaded by ancient pines and maples, ablaze with color in the fall. The upper two walls of the 3-storey Kinkakuji Pavilion are covered with gold foil and there is a bronze phoenix on the shingle roof.

The first floor of white plaster walls and wooden beams is built in Heian Period shinden style while the upper floors are in bukke samurai style. Though the interior is closed to the public it is possible to make out statues of the Buddha and Yoshimitsu on the first floor. 

The second floor contains more Buddhist images including one of Kannon while the third floor is gilded both inside and out.

Walking around the pond in a clockwise direction, visitors exit through the rear gate where there is a small temple dedicated to Fudo Myo-o, a wrathful Buddhist deity. 

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