(Finally!) Resuming my Japan travel posts, this time focusing on the third leg of my 4-city Japan tour (naks!). More than Osaka, Kyoto was a must in my itinerary, because I felt like it mostly represents much of the culture and history that fascinates me so about this country. It is the Kyoto itinerary that I had the most trouble figuring out where to go in the limited amount of time, because there was just SOOOO MUCH THAT I WANTED TO SEE! Sadly, we only had to choose a few. (And it didn’t help that it rained the first day.) So our first stop was one of the historical buildings most representative of Japan… Kinkaku-ji.
Accuweather pegged that, on this day, there will be rainfall at mid-morning until mid-afternoon. We did not let that stop us, though, so we set off early from our guesthouse to head over to Kinkaku-ji (official site).
For this day, we got the 1-day Bus Sightseeing Pass from the Kyoto Bus Information Center in front of the Kyoto Station. You can then board the direct Kyoto City Bus (number 101 or 205). The first one that came, I think, was Bus No. 205, so we took that from the stop for Kinkakuji-michi.
When we got off at the bus stop at Kinkakuji-michi, rain started pouring. AND I MEAN POURING.
So Peach and I literally hotfooted over to the next street towards the path leading to the temple, then took shelter in a small store, where this kindly obaasan motioned us over, then told us that they are selling umbrellas. LOL. So we caved in and each bought those transparent umbrellas, while she was wiping us down (because we were dripping wet by then). Each umbrella was 400 yen; too bad there were no hyaku-en (100-yen) shops nearby.
And so, armed with our umbrellas, we continued on towards the temple.
When we were almost there, along with other temple visitors… the rain slowed down.
Check out the other tourists flocking towards the place. We were of one mind, I suppose. Rain’s not gonna stop us~
There is an admission fee to get inside the temple” 400 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. I liked how the admission ticket looks, though. It was just a piece of paper, with the kanji characters, but they added a feel of authenticity to it (like, any second, I was expecting the letters to start glowing and the paper to burst into flames, haha!).
Saa~ hajimemashou ka~
Kinkaku-ji, or The Golden Pavilion is a Buddhist hall that contains relics of Buddha. A name for these types of halls is shariden.
This place is famous for the golden pavilion itself, but that is just a small part of the whole. The pavilion is part of a temple which has a formal name of Rokuon-ji. But it is really more popular as Kinkaku-ji, or Kinkaku Temple, or, in English, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Rokuon-ji officially became a World Cultural Heritage Site back in 1994.
As history would have it, this was the site of the Kitayama-dai, a villa owned by statesman Saionji Kintsune. In 1397, it was acquired by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the 3rd shogun of the Muromachi period, and renamed it as Kitayama-den, turning it into his own villa. Upon his death in 1408, it was turned into a Zen Buddhist temple.
This here, ladies and gentlemen, is the Golden Pavilion, which is the only structure remaining of the original villa complex of Yoshimitsu.
The Golden Pavilion is in the center of the whole area (total temple land area is 132,000 square meters), surrounded by gardens and buildings. This is representative of the “Pure Land of Buddha in this world”.
The Golden Pavilion overlooks the Kyoko-chi pond (roughly 60,600 sq m), and the small island in the middle of the ponds is called “Ashihara Island”.
The Pavilion has three levels, which I will talk about in more detail a bit later.
Many times, this structure was destroyed and damaged, only to be rebuilt. The last reconstruction was in 1955, and it is what is standing today.
Unfortunately, entering the pavilion itself is not allowed.
The top of the upper level features a golden phoenix.
While walking around the right side of the pond, we passed by this closed-off area, which is the “abbot’s chamber”. This is the living quarters of the head priest.
AWe can only stand from outside the gate, but from here, you can already catch a glimpse of the interior walls of the rooms, as well as the painted sliding doors.
And, of course, what else would you expect from Japanese gardens in a zen setting such as this? 
Spot the raindrops on the pond’s surface. 🙂 On a sunny day, the reflection of the golden structure on the water would be really quite something.
Throughout the garden and the pond are rocks. See them? These rocks were donated by the various provincial lords during the period.
The first level has partially open walls and is built in the shinden style of 11th-century imperial aristocracy. It is where the statues of the Shaka (historical) Buddha and Yoshimitsu are kept.
The upper two levels, however, are covered by gold foil or leaf on lacquers. Instead of shinden style, the buke style was used for the second level. This style is of the warrior (samurai) aristocracy. Accordingly, the second level contains the statue of a seated Kannon Bodhisattva, and is surrounded by the Four Heavenly Kings.
The third level (the top one) is of the zenshu-butsuden style, which is essentially a Chinese style. This three-way combo represents the architecture of the Muromachi period.
We also spotted some of the “residents” of the place, peacefully swanning around in the pond. They were unperturbed by the people walking around, taking photos of them.
We followed the path around the back of the Pavilion, and it was lined with various flora.
This, here, is the Ryumon Taki, or the Carp Rock.
Just like in other places we’ve visited – both amusement parks and temples and shrines – we saw young people in their school uniforms.
We took an uphill trail, which led us past the pond called Anmin-taku. Legend has it that this pond never dries up.
There was a Tea Garden area, but because it was raining, all the seats were covered.
Making the circuit will eventually bring you to this area with a tea house and various stalls selling souvenirs and food.
But it is also the place where the Fudo-do, or the Fudo Hall, is located. It is dedicated to the Buddhist deity Fudo-myoo. He is a protector of Buddhism, and is one of the Five Kings of Wisdom.
As usually spotted in temples, there’s a place where incense sticks are burnt, and an area for the prayer tablets.
Hidden from the public view but present inside is a statue of Fudo-myoo. During the Setsubun in February, the place holds an open-door ritual.
Lots of foodstuffs!
I admit that we approached many of them for the free taste. Haha!
In my opinion, the bursts of rain made this even more of a treat. Of course, it may have been a different sight to behold the golden pavilion brightly lit up by the sun, but what I managed to see on this day, I was greatly satisfied with.
How we got there:
We took Kyoto City Bus Number 205 in front of the Kyoto Station. The bus ride takes 40 to 45 minutes. We got off at the Kinkakuji-michi Bus Stop, and walked for around 5 minutes to the temple.
Bus fare is 230 yen, but we got the 1-day Kyoto Bus and Subway sightseeing pass for 1200 yen. This is more advisable, especially if you plan to visit lots of places that are accessible by direct buses and the subway throughout the day. There are other options, depending on how you plan to go about your sightseeing.