Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion)
- Kinkakuji offers a tea ceremony
Kinkakuji is located in Northern Kyoto
Address:
1 Kinkakujicho
Kita Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 603-8361
Japan
Due to its popularity, Kinkakuji is bound to be busy anytime or day of the week. Because it's golden exterior, the best time to view it would be golden hour (the period of time just after sunrise or just before sunset.) The golden sunlight cascading off of the building is sure to be a beautiful sight.
Opening Hours
Summer (3/1-11/30)
8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Winter (12/1- 2 / last day)
4:30 from 9:00 pm to 9:00 am
Never Closed
Aside from the fact that the pavilion is nearly 75% covered in golden flakes and it's an UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kinkakuji is beautiful sight to see. The pavilion is situated atop a pond with a serene landscape in the foreground. Visitors are able to view the temple from a far distance, and also get pretty close to it.
If you plan to part-take in the tea time,
it will 500 yen per person
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Upon paying our entrance fee, we were handed these papers which
we showed to get through |
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| Just a few steps in and the Golden Pavilion was right in front of us. I was expecting a few minutes of walking, but nope! As soon as you walk through you will see it. |
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| As you can see, trying to take pictures is somewhat of a pain since there are so many people crowding the area. |
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| After some maneuvering around dozens of people, you will surely get that perfect shot! |
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| Daniel had the clever idea of trying to get the reflection of the pavilion in the pond. |
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| After viewing the pavilion from the left side (the farthest side) we walked over to the right side, the cloest side to the pavilion to get a better look. |
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| After looking at the pavilion we decided to follow the path through the garden where we came across a pile of rock statues sitting on a net with piles of coins. |
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| A few school girls were tossing coins, trying to get them in the black stone bowl. She actually got one in! A great way to get rid of your yennies! |
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| The pathway led up some stone stairs
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The stroll through the gardens was amazing. The colors of the leaves and moss were vibrant. You can even gets some awesome shots of the pavilion from up there.
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| As we descended, we knew the pathway was ending when we saw the white tents. |
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Off to the right side, there was the Sekkatei Teahouse, a little area with a couple umbrellas and benches. It was a tea rest area. There was a lady standing at its entrance who we paid 500 yen each to and she gave us two small tickets in return and ushered us inside.
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| Not all of the benches had umbrellas, and I really wanted a chance to enjoy my tea while sitting underneath one, so I waited a few minutes then group left and I got my chance! |
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| Not long after sitting, one the ladies walking around with the tea and sweets served us right away and took our tickets in exchange. |
It was quite an interesting combination. The sweet had a very strange taste and texture. The white part tasted like pure sugar and the inside was like a red bean but had something else in it that was sorta of salty. The green tea, as with any was bitter.
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| If you enjoyed it, then you in luck! You can buy a box of 6 or 9 to take home! |
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| On our way out there were several vendors. Most selling different varieties of Yatsuhashi. You can also sample much of what the vendors were selling! I probably would have preferred sampling the tea and yatsuhashi from the vendors rather than paying 500 for the tea ceremony, but the area was just too darn cute! |
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| On the way out you can also stop over at the Cafe |
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We headed back to our car about 4:05pm
PROS: Kinkakuji is beautiful sightseeing spot. Walking through the garden was nice because it wasn't too long and you can view the pavilion from a different view. They offer a green tea ceremony
CONS: Because of it's popularity it is pretty crowded and getting pictures without other people in it is a little tricky.It felt a little commercial due to the several vendors at the end.Final Verdict: I would definitely suggest adding this landmark to an itinerary, afterall it is one of the most popular sights in Kyoto. It's great for a one-time visit.
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