500px Photo ID: 72932487 - Ginkaku-ji Temple or the Silver Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan..Three exposures blending into 32-bit HDR and processed in Lightroom

Pakawat Thongcharoen / 500px

Ginkaku-ji

Top choice

LoginSave

Home to a sumptuous garden and elegant structures, Ginkaku-ji is one of Kyoto's premier sites. The temple started its life in 1482 as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who desired a place to retreat from the turmoil of a civil war. While the name Ginkaku-ji literally translates as 'Silver Pavilion', the shogun's ambition to cover the building with silver was never realised. After Ashikaga's death, the villa was converted into a temple.

Walkways lead through the gardens, which include meticulously raked cones of white sand (said to be symbolic of a mountain and a lake), tall pines and a pond in front of the temple. A path also leads up the mountainside through the trees.

Note that Ginkaku-ji is one of the city's most popular sites, and it is almost always crowded, especially during spring and autumn. We strongly recommend visiting right after it opens or just before it closes.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Vendors prepare chestnuts to sell at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan on 22 November 2016. 1011566827 traditional, street, asian, nutrition, priest, tourism, fruit, editorial, cooking, design, east, tradition, chinese, famous, stall, recommend, sale, asia, vendor, nut, cuisine, chef, color, people, culture, food, castanea, healthy, place, chestnut, travel, vegetable, market, business, tourist, architecture, marron, buy, furniture, decoration, colorful, merchant, city, nishiki market, japan, street food, japanese, sell, kyoto, shop

    Nishiki Market

    2.47 MILES

    The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

  • Path through bamboo forest

    Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

    7.24 MILES

    The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…

  • Todai-ji Temple, Nara

    Tōdai-ji

    23.45 MILES

    Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…

  • ktoyo,japan - May 21,2018 : Mt.Hiei-zan Enryaku-ji Temple in Kyoto,Japan.Enryaku-ji Temple was founded by the priest Saicho In 788.

    Enryaku-ji

    7.19 MILES

    Located atop 848m-high Hiei-zan (the mountain that dominates the skyline in the northeast of the city), the Enryaku-ji complex is an entire world of…

  • Horyuji Temple, Nara, Japan

    Hōryū-ji

    28.63 MILES

    Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…

  • Kiyomizu or Kiyomizu-dera temple in autum season at Kyoto Japan 391009933 architecture, asia, autumn, buddhism, buddhist, color, culture, dera, fall, heritage, japan, japanese, kiyomizu, kiyomizu-dera, kyoto, landmark, nature, red, religion, religious, shinto, shrine, temple, tourist, travel

    Kiyomizu-dera

    2.32 MILES

    A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…

  • 500px Photo ID: 104742241 - Photo taken at Kurama-dera, Sakyo ward, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan.

    Kurama-dera

    6.46 MILES

    Located high on a thickly wooded mountain, Kurama-dera is one of the few temples in modern Japan that manages to retain an air of real spirituality. This…

  • People walking under thousands of Torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. 88375702 destination, historical, gate, cultural, oriental, approaching, red, kyoto, culture, landmark, attraction, history, thousand, walking, orange, corridor, shintoism, pathway, people, traditional, asia, tour, building, religious, tourist, historic, heritage, tradition, architecture, tourism, religion, shintoist, shinto, spot, tunnel, japanese, japan, fox, shrine, road, senbon dorii, senbon torii, fushimi, kansai, taisha, torii, senbon, inari, kinki, 1000

    Fushimi Inari-Taisha

    4.38 MILES

    With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Path of Philosophy (Tetsugaku-no-Michi)

0.18 MILES

The Tetsugaku-no-Michi is one of the most pleasant walks in Kyoto. Lined with a great variety of flowering plants, bushes and trees, it is a corridor of…

2. Hōnen-in

0.19 MILES

Founded in 1680 to honour the priest Hōnen, this is a lovely, secluded temple with carefully raked gardens set back in the woods. The temple buildings…

3. Reikan-ji

0.42 MILES

Only open to the public in spring and autumn, Reikan-ji is one of Kyoto’s great lesser-visited attractions. During the spring opening, you will find the…

4. Shinnyo-dō

0.64 MILES

This temple in a residential area of Northern Higashiyama is a locals-only favourite for quiet contemplation. It's a great spot to see the autumn leaves.

5. Takenaka Inari-sha

0.7 MILES

A tiny shrine atop Yoshida-yama, Takenaka Inari-sha in Northern Higashiyama is popular with walkers.

6. Kurodani Pagoda

0.73 MILES

This pagoda, which stands above the temple of Kurodani, offers one of the best views over the city. You cannot enter the pagoda itself, but you can climb…

7. Yoshida-jinja

0.75 MILES

Yoshida-jinja is the largest shrine on Yoshida-yama, the small mountain that rises just east of Kyoto University. It's most famous for the fire festival…

8. Kurodani Temple

0.76 MILES

Also known as Konkai Kōmyō-ji, this temple in the Northern Higashiyama district is a favourite of locals for morning and evening strolls. It's got some…