Glowing dawn:

Kyoto, perhaps more than any other city in Japan, fulfills Western stereotypes of how Japan should be. Austere Zen rock gardens, glamourously secretive geisha, outrageously expensive kaiseki restuarants and elaborately decorated temples:

Kinkakuji - the Golden Pavilion (official name = Rokuonji) - is arguably the most famous of Kyoto's 2000 odd temples. It was originally built as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1397, but was later converted into a temple. An obsessed monk burnt it to the ground in 1950 (read Mishima Yukio's The Temple of the Golden Pavilion for the fictionalised version) but a full reconstruction, with the gold foil covering extending to the lower floors, was completed in 1955.

Kinkakuji is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm and admission costs 400 yen - Kinkakujimichi bus stop provides the most convenient access. It features on the itinerary of all tour groups - so get there as close to opening time as possible, or you won't have the opportunity to experience the peacefulness of its surroundings! Due to Kyoto's grid design and the excellent free Kyoto City Bus Sightseeing Map it's incredibly simple to navigate yourself around the city - even if you can't read kanji! And how many times have I visited Kyoto? I've clocked up 7 visits so far, and I've barely begun to even scratch the surface!

(These photos were taken on my visit in July 2004.)