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Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

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Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

The gold-leaf pavilion over its mirror pond. It photographs impossibly well in any weather. You can't enter the building — it's a 40-minute garden circuit, so pair it with Ryoan-ji down the road.

Photo: David Monniaux, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

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  • Temples & Gardens

    The headline sights — temples, shrines, and the gardens around them. Pace yourself: two big ones a day is plenty.