We spent most of our time in Kyoto, capital of Japan during the Heian Era beginning in 794, when the city was called "Heian-kyo." High on everyone's list of Kyoto "must-see" sights is the "Golden Pavilion" (Kinkaku-ji) which was orginally built in 1397 as a lakeside retreat for the retired Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and was later turned into a temple by his son. Yukio Mishima's famous novel The Golden Pavilion tells the true story of the monk who burned the original down in 1950. The present building, reconstructed in 1955, is even more golden than the original, which had only its upper story covered in gold leaf.
Since you're not allowed to go inside it, the Golden Pavilion is essentially just something to look at and take pictures of, but it is certainly beautiful.
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Paul Brians