Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

金阁寺

A three-story reliquary hall covered in gold leaf, reflected in the Mirror Pond. Originally the mountain villa of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Muromachi shogun, it is Kyoto's most dazzling World Heritage Site.

Kinkaku-ji's official name is Rokuon-ji. It is a temple of the Rinzai Shōkoku-ji school, built in 1397 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, as his mountain villa, Kitayama-dono. After his death, it was converted into a Zen temple. The three stories of the Golden Pavilion, the reliquary hall, are built in the shinden, samurai and Zen temple styles, respectively. The second and third floors are covered in gold leaf, and a golden phoenix stands on the roof. The pavilion is reflected in the Mirror Pond, where the islands and rocks symbolize the Buddhist view of the world. It represents the Kitayama culture of the Muromachi period and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The present building was rebuilt in 1955 after a monk set fire to and destroyed the original. The incident inspired Yukio Mishima's novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. The gold leaf was reapplied in 1987. The visit follows a one-way route: entrance, then the classic viewpoint across the Mirror Pond, where in the morning sunlight the pavilion and its reflection appear together. Walk around the pond to the back of the pavilion for a closer look, then climb to the Yūkatei tea house and the Fudō Hall. At the exit, you can have matcha with a sweet for about ¥500 at the tea room. Admission is ¥500, and the ticket itself is a talisman printed with blessings, a meaningful souvenir. The visit takes about 45 minutes to an hour. You cannot enter the pavilion itself. Getting there: take city bus 205, 12 or 59 to the Kinkakuji-michi stop, about 40 minutes from Kyoto Station. You can combine it with Ryōan-ji, famous for its dry landscape stone garden, a 20-minute walk or one bus stop away, and Ninna-ji, as a northern Kyoto half-day route. Or take the Randen tram to Arashiyama. Notes: it is crowded all day, and opening time at 9 a.m. is the emptiest. The pavilion looks especially atmospheric in rain or snow. Tripods are not allowed in the garden.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

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