Temples, Temples, Temples!

This is Kinkakuji. In English, this is the Golden Pavilion. It is a Buddhist temple, originally built as a retirement residence for a shogun. Yes, it really is gold. Goldleaf on Japanese lacquer, to be specific.

In the 1220's this was the site of a villa for shoguns. Shogun Yoshimitsu built the pavilion in 1394 when he retired. After his death, the site was made into a Buddhist temple. The pavilion is the only building remaining from his time. It never ceases to amaze me how OLD buildings outside of America are.

Despite appearances, that isn't a rooster on the roof. It is a Chinese phoenix.

The gardens around the temple are absolutely stunning.

The path around Mirror Lake.

One of the small islands in the middle of Mirror Lake.

The iris around the edge of the lake was in full bloom. They were some of the prettiest flowers we saw on this trip. We were about a month too late to catch the cherry blossoms and azealas.

In Japan, a holy site is not complete with just one temple building. There is always a slew of mouments, shrines, and temples in the area. Here are some of the other sights at Kinkakuji:

This is another small pond in the area, named An-min-taku. It is located on the hillside above the pavilion. The pagoda stands on an island in the pond. Notice how GREEN the scenery was!

This is a small monument that obviously has significance, but there was no English sign to explain things. The largest rock appears to have a Buddha carved on it. We frequently saw rocks like this around Kyoto, and wondered if they represent graves.

Last but not least, these photos are the inside and outsite of a shrine on the premises.

More photos to come - I still have ten rolls of film left!