Who: Sheila and Aaron Lepkin of Englewood, Colorado
Where: Kinkakuji (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto, Japan
Out and about: One of Kyoto’s best-known attractions, Kinkakuji was
constructed in the 1390s as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and features a three-story pavilion covered in gold leaf with a roof topped by a bronze phoenix. On a clear day, you almost need sunglasses. Be sure to explore the surrounding park with its moss-covered grounds and teahouses. Kinkakuji was the inspiration for the Temple of the Silver Pavilion, on the other side of Kyoto, in an almost-as-spectacular setting.
Travel tip: If you go to only one place in all of Japan, Kyoto should be it. Not only is it the most historically significant town in the nation, this former capital was also the only major Japanese city spared from the bombs of World War II. As such, it’s full of an incredible 1,700 Buddhist temples and 300 Shinto shrines, imperial palaces, and traditional wooden homes. Kyoto is home to 20% of Japan’s national treasures, and is also home to the nation’s greatest concentration of craft artisans. We visited around
New Year’s, an important family holiday in Japan, and it was exciting to see so many people visiting shrines and temples dressed in their finest kimono. To make getting around easier, we purchased bus passes — a day pass costs just 500 yen, and were available at the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) where we stayed. They’re also available at major hotels, subway stations, and the city bus center at Kyoto railroad station.
