At the Zen Buddhist temple of Rokuonji, more famously known as Kinkakuji (the temple of the golden pavilion), nestled in the foothills of north-west Kyoto, you will find this famous gold-plated building.
The history dates back to 1397.
In 1950 the golden pavilion was burnt down by a novice monk, who then unsuccessfully attempted suicide.
The novelist Yukio Mishima wrote a fictionalised account in a novel entitled “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” (translation). Mishima himself was a right wing fundamentalist who ultimately committed ritual suicide in 1970 after a failed coup d’etat in Tokyo.
The pavilion was re-built in 1955.
But there is more to this location, with a beautiful landscape garden walk and a series of well preserved buildings of centuries old design.
Kyoto Kita Ward, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan