Kinkakuji/ The Golden Pavilion

During our stay in Kyoto we visited Kinkakuji also known as The Golden Pavilion.

Kinkakuji is a temple in North Kyoto which gets it's famous golden sheen from the gold leaf coating it's two top floors.

To reach the pavilion you can catch a 25 minute bus from Kyoto city centre. We caught a bus from a within the Gion district. The Golden Pavilion is set in a beautiful garden outside the bustle of the main city, giving it a charming, peaceful atmosphere.

After the main attraction of the Golden Pavilion near to the entrance, you can also see other sights such as the priests former living quarters...

A feathered friend if you're lucky...

Lucky statues where people toss coins...

And the Sekkatei Teahouse where we stopped for a cup of green tea and a small cake, which was delicious!

mmmm gold leaf... yum!

please excuse the terrible state of my nail polish!!

Our visit to The Golden Pavilion didn't take much more than an hour, but I would highly recommend going if you happen to one day find yourself in Kyoto! If nothing else the views of the pavilion and it's surroundings are breathtaking! And at just 400 yen entry it's easy on the wallet too.