This beautiful golden temple

Japan is an extraordinary place to explore, so much to see and so many incredible and unique sights to behold. This golden temple is one of my many favourite places to visit. It is called Kinkaku-Ji, located in the city of Kyoto, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. It's a popular tourist spot of course, but it is one of those places to enjoy rather than rushing through taking a few photos before moving on to the next tourist attraction. To get a true feel for the place, spend a little time here, enjoying the beauty of this gold-leafed temple, the detail, and the calmness of its surroundings.

This is a Zen Buddhist temple with a history starting at the end of the 14th century, however it has actually burned down several times in that time, during civil wars and most recently due to the actions of a 22 year old monk who was later diagnosed with mental illness.

It means that what you see today is the structure that was rebuilt in 1955 that is said to be close to how it originally appeared. The official name of this branch temple is Rokuon-ji, but it is now commonly known as the temple of the golden pavilion (Kinkakuji).

The temple is set against a large pond which reflects its splendour and enables some fantastic photo opportunities, especially when the sun is out and reflecting on the brilliance of the gold leaf. 

As you wander around the site you can enjoy some typically well-maintained Japanese gardens and trees that surround it, and view the temple from different angles. For me this is a place worth returning to over different seasons, so you can see it in the winter set against white snow, in the autumn with the beautiful autumnal colours of the trees, and in the spring and summer with flowers in bloom.

Thank you for reading.