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Kinkaku-ji
The famed Golden Temple is one of Japan’s best known sights. The original building was constructed in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. His son converted it into a temple. In 1950 a young monk consummated his obsession with the temple by burning it into the ground. The monk’s story was fictionalized in Mishima Yukio’s The Golden Pavilion. In 1955 a full reconstruction was completed that exactly followed the original design, but the gold-foil covering was extended to the lower floor. 11:40 Dep. Kinkaku-ji

Sanjusangen-do
The original Sanjusangen-do was built in 1164 at the request of the retried emperor Goshirakawa. The temple burned to the ground in 1249 but faithful copy was constructed in 1266. The temple’s name refers to the 33(sanju-san) bays between the pillars of this long narrow building that houses 1001 statues of the 1000-armed Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy). Visitors seem to keen to spot resemblances between friends or family members and any of the hundreds of images.

Kiyomizu-dera
This old temple was first built in 798, but the present buildings are reconstructions dating from 1633. The main hall has a huge veranda that is supported by hundreds of pillars and juts out over the hillside. Just below this hall is the water fall Otowa-no-taki, where visitors drink sacred waters believed to have therapeutic properties. The steep approach to the temple is known as Chawan-zaka (Teapot Lane) and is lined with shops selling Kyoto handicrafts, local snacks and souvenirs.