Golden and Silver Temples by Jayla Goodwin

During month two of my stay in Japan I visited two of the most historical and popular tourist attractions within Japan. The first one is called the Kinkakuji also known as the Golden Temple. Before coming to Japan I had an high interest in this temple due to a book I read within my Japanese literature class called “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion”. Although the book was fictional a lot of the history within the book was true for example the original temple was burned down by one of its monks during the 14th century. The beautiful temple that we can see today is the reconstructed version. The second temple that I visited is called the Ginkakuji which is also known as the Silver Temple. Unlike the name the Silver Temple is not actually silver and looks a lot like any other temple within Japan. You can see this through the last picture. The temple was supposed to be covered with silver leaf but it is said that the shogun ran out of money and couldn’t complete the task. Another fact about the Silver Temple is that its a Zen temple, so the area around the temple is very peaceful and filled with lots of gardens. There is also a mini mountain at the temple where you can gaze down onto the Kinkakuji. Both of these temple reside within Kyoto and if you want you can easily see them both in one day. My recommendation is to by a bus pass for the day, this means that you’ll be able to travel through Kyoto without having to pay every time you ride the bus. There are also many shops and souvenirs near the temple as well that you should check out if you go. Lastly I want to mention you can purchase a calligraphy book and at every temple you can gain a new calligraphy proving that you’ve been to that temple.

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