The Silver and Golden Pavilion

In the east of Kyoto is the Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion or Ginkaku Temple. It is not really silver and it is not known whether there were actually plans to make it silver. But probably the name was supposed to establish a connection to the Golden Pavilion, which was built by the grandfather of the 'Silver Pavilion' Shogun.

The Golden Pavilion, also known as Kinkaku-ji, is located in the west and is actually golden. It was the retirement home of the Shogun at that time (end of the 14th century). In 1950, the pavilion burned down completely because a confused monk set it on fire. It was rebuilt 5 years later.

20 minutes away from the Golden Pavilion is the Zen temple Ryoan-ji with one of Japan's most famous dry gardens. It was quite nice to look at. However, we were somewhat disappointed by the size of the dry garden. :)