Golden Pavilion
7:00 am | Day 5 | Kyoto
It
was our last day in Kyoto and we supposedly wanted to just rest and pack our things in
the morning before we head to Osaka later in the afternoon. But because the
weather that morning was perfect, we quickly decided to visit one last place in
Kyoto - a popular place called Kinkaku-ji or The Golden Pavilion.
Known
as the most beautiful ancient pavilion in Kyoto, Kinkakuji or the Golden
Pavilion is a former retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The villa is located north of Kyoto and it is meticulously covered
with golden leaves and surrounded with a pond that makes it picturesque. The
golden villa becomes more charming when it is well lit by the sun. Not to be confused,
Kinkakuji was built first and was the inspiration of Ginkakuji or the Silver
Pavilion.
Arashiyama Bamboo Groove
5:30 am | Day 4 | Kyoto
When
we started planning our Kyoto trip, Arashiyama District was on top of our
list. Mainly because, it is where the famous Bamboo Groove can be found. Probably
you have seen its pictures on screensavers or wall decorations somewhere – yes, that
popular! And for us, we could not miss the opportunity to see it in person and
photograph it – and selfies of course.
Arashiyama
is located west of Kyoto. It is about 45 min from our guesthouse which is near Kiyomizu-Gojo
Station. Based on what we have read, the place gets really crowded from morning
until late afternoon. The best time to be there is really early – and we mean
very early.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple
3:00 pm | Day 3 | Kyoto
3:00 pm | Day 3 | Kyoto
After a long nap in the afternoon, we headed to Kiyomizu-dera Temple. From our guesthouse, it was about 22 minutes away by foot. Since we haven’t explored the neighbourhood yet, we decided to walk. Along the way we saw plenty of small restaurants and traditional tea shops.
Daigoji Temple
9:00 am | Day 3 | Kyoto
9:00 am | Day 3 | Kyoto
From Fushimi Inari Shrine we headed to our next stop, Daigoji Temple. It
is a large complex by Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism located south
of Kyoto and designated as world heritage site. Daigoji Temple is famous for
its grand temples, five-storey pagoda and its alluring gardens.
