Kyoto is probably the most historically cultured city in Japan. It has dozens of temples, many of which are world heritage sites, and some of which date back as far as the eleventh century.
Our first site of great note was at Kinkakiju, the gold temple. In the 1220’s it was the residence of a nobleman. It bcame a temple in the late 1300’s. The three storey pavilion is covered in gold leaf and the roof is built from cedar shingles. The garden is much the same as the original garden was laid out hundreds of years ago.
Our second major site of interest was the cake shop at Kyoto Railway Station. The photo is of the window display.
Very different in age, these pictures represent two stunning scenes of this amazing city. More to come!
The present Kinkakuji was built in 1959 after a crazy monk burned the original one down. The current building’s not that old at all! The original had gold leaf on the ground floor (which the present reco doesn’t). Still stunning though, and still World Heritage.