A Covered Walkway

Walking through the grounds of the Daisen-in Temple is done in style. There are covered walkways to protect you from the weather. Even these walkways were decorated with scrolls, dragon heads and lace carvings.

Daisen-in Temple

The Daisen-in Temple is another Buddhist Temple in Kyoto, famous for it's rock garden. The rock garden is nearly 500 years old! Do rock gardens require maintenance? I am sure they do, these rocks are carefully raked into patterns every day, especially when some animal comes to visit and leaves footprints all through the gravel.

Golden Temple Grounds

Unfortunately we were not offered the chance to go inside this temple, and I am not sure it was even open to the public. We did however get to have a little wander around the grounds which were traditional in style.

The Golden Temple Pt 2

 Just another shot of The Golden Temple, a closer view than yesterday. This Temple is formally named Rokuon-ji Temple, but is commonly called  Kinkaku-ji Temple ( The Golden Pavillion). In it's past, it was used as an official guest house by Emperors and other nobility. Gold foil on lacquer covers the upper two floors.

The Golden Temple

The Golden Temple is another Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It's history dates back to the late 1300's when it became the property of a retiring Shogun. As per his will, the complex was turned into a Buddhist temple. Along with many of the old buildings in Japan, this one also succumbed to fire many times, and the current building was constructed in 1955. The top two levels are completely covered in gold leaf!

Tenryu-ji Temple

The Tenryu-ji Temple ( a World Cultural Heritage Site) was the first stop on our taxi tour of Kyoto, Japan. Our tour  was a full day, whirlwind tour of the best of Kyoto.

Tenryu-ji ('Temple of the Hevenly Dragon),  is a Buddhist temple dating back to 1339. The site has a history of fires, so the current buildings only date back to the late 1800's. This was another shoes off experience.

Such a shame that we didn't have more time. I would have loved to explore all the buildings and gardens some more. I think it could be the kind of place to come and spend a whole day, we only had limited time as there were a few more stops ahead in our day.

Kiyomizu Temple

At the top of the hill in Gion was the prize we were looking for, The Kiyomizu Temple. Originally founded in 798, a lot of the buildings weren't built until the 1600's. Unfortunatley, it was being restored when we were there, so most of it was covered with scaffolding and cloth. A little dissapointing, as we had travelled such a long way to see it. Not to worry, the walk back down the hill at dusk was more interesting than the walk up.