The Private Islander

The next day in Kyoto I saw the Kinkakuji Temple, which was reconstructed in 1950 after a mentally insane monk burned it to the ground. The temple is symbolized by the Golden Pavilion, a building covered in pure gold leaf pictured below. The temple was one of the most beautiful places I visited on my trip, and also featured surrounding gardens that matched the Pavilion’s grandeur. It would have been nice to see all the flowers in bloom during spring, but I was content enough to see the gardens in their winter state. The age of the gardens as well as their simplistic beauty was astounding. The gardens made use of simple design elements, yet still looked amazing. Many waterfalls and ponds can be found throughout the area, and at the end of the path that runs through the area are several gift shops and rest rooms. Out of all the shrines and temples I visited during my stay in Japan, the Kinkakuji Temple was my favorite.

Later on I went to the Kasuga Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in a wooded area. The shrine is located on a hill that provides a hazy view of Kyoto. Kasuga is known around Japan for its many bronze lanterns, which have been brought to the shrine by visitors over the years. The shrine was built back in 784 A.D. and destroyed several times throughout history. The version you see today is not the original.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 5:08 pm and is filed under Features . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.