Dan & Kath in Kyoto: The Golden Pavilion

In the afternoon of our second day in Kyoto, after a morning spent at one of Kyoto's massive flea markets, we stopped by Kinkaku-ji ("The Temple of the Golden Pavilion"), which perhaps one of the most famous temples in all of Japan. At the center of this temple's sprawling gardens lies a broad, shallow pond with a soaring pavilion coated in gold leaf. You've probably seen it before, though you may not have known what it was: along with, say, Mt. Fuji, or one of Japan's multi-storied pagodas, the Golden Pavilion is among a handful of images that can regularly be found on Japanese post-cards and calendars.

Fortunately, we managed to arrive at just the right time in the afternoon: with the Golden Pavilion shining in the early evening sun, even the crowds of fellow tourists weren't enough to take the magic out of the place. A joy to look at, and a joy to photograph, too.

As you can see, the water that day was incredibly still.

I also indulged in a few shots from behind the pavilion, looking out over the pond.

You can see how the pavilion juts out into the water, so that it looks almost like it's floating. This is a favorite trick in traditional Japanese architecture.