Ginkakuji

Last Saturday I got tired of waiting out the rain (days and days of it) and headed for Kyoto with my umbrella and camera in hand.  I lucked out and it only rained for a few minutes, while I was in the taxi to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavillion. 

Apparently Leonardo Dicaprio bought a soda flavored ice pop at this shop.

The entrance to the temple.

The rippled sand and the flat topped cone are called Ginsyadan and Kogetsudai repectively.  The Ginsyandan is meant to represent waves, and Kogetsudai Mt. Fuji.

This is it, Ginkaku, or as it was originally called, Kannon-den.  Despite being a national treasure, I find it really underwhelming (the same way I found the Mona Lisa and Leaning Tower of Pisa underwhelming).  I was glad to find that it was no longer under renovations though, as the last two times I visited, it was hidden behind scaffolding!

A couple more months and all of this will be bright red...I can't wait!

I got lucky and visited on a day when the temple was fairly quiet, so it was extra nice as an escape from the craziness of the city.  Fingers crossed it will be similar as I try to visit more places around Japan.  Stay Tuned.