Golden Pavilion 金閣寺 - Kyoto

The Golden Pavilion Temple (aka Kinkaku-ji or Rokuon-ji) was our last stop around Kyoto's outskirts after touring the Arashiyama district. Again, the milieu was drop-dead gorgeous against a forest and a mountainside, not to mention the beautiful gardens and the temple itself. In my previous post I was saying how I find the connection between the architectural- and the natural elements in some temple areas we visited fascinating, well, I did some research and found out that it was indeed a result of a well-planned combination: The classical age of Japanese gardening - a period that used to highlight the importance between the temple and its surroundings. Makes perfect sense.

Although this must be one of Japan's most touristy spots, we didn't find it overly crowded by the time of our visit (which probably won't be the case during peak seasons). On the flip side, on our way back to downtown, the bus was so full we thought it would burst...so, go figure. But overall, we really enjoyed our day out exploring the northwestern parts of Kyoto with plenty places of interest and compelling greeneries.