Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion and Beautiful World Heritage Sites Shine Through the Rain
Modern Japan is a dichotomy of tradition and technology. Bullet trains, office towers, elaborate gardens and delicate temples often exist side by side. One place where those two features are on display is in and around Kyoto which served as the capital of Japan’s imperial court for a thousand years and was the largest city in the country until the late 1500s.
Kyoto remains famous for its many shrines, castles and other World Heritage sites. Located about 320 miles from Tokyo, Kyoto is a mandatory destination for people seeking to experience some of the traditions and culture of the Japanese people. We visited some of the region’s landmarks during a rainy springtime and left enlightened and awed by the opportunity. Some of the best places to see there are the following:
Himeji Castle: The imposing Himeji Castle located over an hour from Kyoto is a good place to start. Consisting of several dozen buildings and fortifications, the castle was built over a period of hundreds of years and completed in 1609. It served as a political and military citadel for the samurai clans who ruled the area for many centuries and controlled access to the religious and cultural center of Kyoto to the east.
The sturdy gates, high stone walls and commanding position of the castle demonstrate its strategic usefulness. At the same time, the six-story wooden palace at the heart of the castle features numerous chambers of great beauty, and the entire complex is surrounded by gardens and cherry trees. Himeji remains a popular stop throughout the year.
Nijo Castle: Within Kyoto itself is the Nijo Castle which was also built in the early 1600s. It served as more of a showplace of the shogun’s power and fortune to other nobles and visiting rivals, than as a military installation. The inner palace has some unusual architectural features. Constructed out of cypress wood, it is full of wood-carvings, screen paintings and impressive reception halls. Nijo Castle was also known for some unique defense mechanisms such as secret chambers housing bodyguards and wood flooring that would chirp like a bird if someone walked in the corridors.
Golden Pavilion: Another beautiful site located in Kyoto is the Golden Pavilion or Kinkaku-Ji Temple. Originally constructed in 1397 as a villa for a shogun, the building was later turned into a Zen temple for religious meditation. Several floors of the resplendent wooden building are coated with gold leaf. The gold is reflected by an adjacent pond and the structure is accented by the well-manicured gardens, rocks and small islands surrounding it. Visitors cannot enter the temple but may photograph it from throughout the grounds. Despite destruction by fire and several restorations, the Golden Pavilion has endured to become a proud symbol of traditional Japan.