Kinkaku-ji (Kinkaku Temple) or otherwise known as "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" or just "The Golden Temple", is one of the most famous temples in Kyoto or Japan even. It wasn't originally built as a temple, but as wealthy Lord's tea house. When he died he handed it over to become a temple. The current pavilion is a reconstruction, the original was destroyed in the 1960s when a Buddhist monk set himself on fire inside the pavilion to protest against people idolising it.

It is definitely worth a visit if your in Kyoto, just arrive early in the day to avoid the crowds or school Children that visit the place on excursions every school day.

It takes a long time to get there if you catch the bus all the way from JR Kyoto station due to the transit across the centre of the city. I recommend getting a bus from Hankyu Saiin station (on the Hankyu Kyoto line) or Ninjo-jo Mae station (on the Kyoto Subway Tozai Line) to avoid the congested parts of the bus route.

This gallery is a collection of photos from Kinkaku-ji taken on various visits I've made there. The newest photos are placed at the beginning of this gallery.

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