The Golden Pavilion Temple: Kinkaku-ji {Japan}

When Matt and I were planning our Kyoto trip, the Golden Pavilion was one of the first things we put on our list, and it did not disappoint. It was absolutely beautiful and really easy to get to from the center of Kyoto. 

The Golden Pavilion aka Kinkaku-ji aka Rokuon-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple that dates back to the year 1397. The land belonged to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and was converted to a Zen temple when he died. 

In 1950, the pavilion was burned down by a young monk, so the pavilion you see today is a restored version of the original. 

Here are some pictures from our trip: 

 {Tea House} 

[At the end of the garden tour, there is a tea garden you can sit and have a tea and sweet. It's about 500 Yen per person.} 

Okay, so how beautiful was this place? We were staying in the center of Kyoto and it took about 25 minutes by bus to get there. We walked through the garden in about an hour, and went to about 4 other places that day. We got there around 10:30 am and it wasn't that crowded. We had a great time walking around the garden. It was so beautiful- I can't even imagine how beautiful it looks in the Spring with the Cherry Blossoms! 

Basic Information 

Cost: 400 Yen (about $4) 

Hours: 9:00-5:00 pm - open everyday 

Directions: Click on this link for a list of buses and subways. Cost to get there is about 220 Yen each way. 

{Source}