自転車で金閣寺へ
Kyoto's
Golden Pavilion is among the world's most beautiful buildings.
Covered in gold leaf, the main hall shimmers in front of a man-made lake.
It is ethereal and exquisite.
Kinkakuji Temple, or the Golden Pavilion, is actually a Zen Buddhist temple.
It is located in northwest Kyoto, along a well-trod path of beautiful temples. Within Japan, it has been designated as both as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape. It is moreover a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Like other temples, it was originally the a villa of an important man, in this case the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Following his death, it became a zen temple.
The current pavilion dates to the 1950s. During the Onin War, from 1467 to 1477, it was burned twice (and the entire city of Kyoto essentially destroyed).
More recently, in 1950, an insane monk lit the temple on fire - and destroyed it.
Information
Kinkakuji Temple
1 Kinkaku-ji-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto
075 461 0013
Entrance Fee: 400 yen; last entry at 4:30 pm
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