Golden Palace – Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is situated in northern Kyoto. Its top two floors are completely gold. Kinkakuji was the inspiration for the Ginkakuji – Silver Pavilion. Kinkakuji was built as a retirement villa for one of the shogunes. I need to take a taxi to get there, as my feet hurt. After 6 days walking in Tokyo, taking daily route around 20 km, I barely can walk now. The taxi is not that expensive but of course you have to agree the price before you go!
The landscape is amazing. It is November so the Autumn colours across the hills and lakes are increadible and in my opinion it is the best time to visit this place. But the Golden Palace is something absolutely beathtaking. The weather there is sunny and windless, so the golden structure reflects in the surrounding lake. No words can express the view better than Nikon 🙂
Golden Palace history
Kinkakuji, built in 1393, was a retirement villa for Shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga. He lived a luxury life there and the temple is gold to show his power and authority. What’s really interesting is the fact that the temple parts are in different style of architecture. The third floor is biult in the old Chinese style and it was used for meditation. Kinkakuji burned down several times during the Onin War, the present structure dates from 1955. The temple was re-covered in gold leaf five times thicker than the original layer.
