Kyoto, Japan and the Silver Pavilion

By
John
 – February 25, 2010Posted in: Asia, Destination

View down to the Silver Pavilion

Trip Taken: 2007

After my lunch outside the grounds of Tenryu-ji, I decided to walk to the bamboo forest right next to the temple. It’s pretty impressive to be surrounded by tall, tall bamboo all around. One really interesting person that I met on the walking path in the forest was this Japanese artist. He was painting landscapes in the style of famed artist Georges Seurat. I would buy one of his paintings if I could. They were beautifully done and looked like it was painstaking to make. I wished I could find his business card that he gave me. One day I will buy one of his paintings. In the meantime, I bought a postcard.

Ginkaku-ji: The Silver Pavilion

Heading out from the outskirts back to the heart of Kyoto is definitely like entering a big city. I was heading for the spiritual twin to the golden temple, the silver pavilion. Unlike Kinkaku-ji, the caretaker in charge of this temple couldn’t realize his dream of covering the outside of this temple with silver foil. That’s too bad because it probably would been a cool duality. Again the grounds are manicured as meticulously as a zen garden should be. This was my last stop for the day so I meandered through the grounds until I was ushered out by a hurried groundskeeper.

Parting Words

After visiting all these famous sites in one day, I haven’t even touched most of the ones recommended in my guidebook. And even from all those attractions listed in the book, there must be a dozen or more interesting ones not listed. A traveler could spend a good year in Kyoto and not fully experience all that there is to offer.

Picture Gallery

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About the Author

John is always trying to find his way back to the road. He has an affinity for Germany due to his three years studying German at Cal, and a year working as an intern in the Stuttgart area. He also likes chocolate cake and good cheese.