Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion
Two floors covered in gold leaf, set on a pond that doubles them.
Duration
45 min – 1 hr
Best time
At opening
Open
Every day
Entry price
500 JPY
The pavilion was built in 1397 as a retirement villa for the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, then turned into a Zen temple on his death. Its two upper floors are covered in pure gold leaf, and each level follows a different architectural style.
What you see dates from 1955: a novice set fire to it in 1950, an episode Mishima turned into a novel. The rebuild was made more gilded than the original, on the evidence of old records.
Getting there
Bus 101 or 205 from Kyoto station, about forty minutes. No subway station serves the temple.
What the price covers
general entry; 300 ¥ for school pupils. The rate may change during special exhibitions.
Rules on site
The route is one-way and does not double back: you see the pavilion from one side of the pond only, and never go inside. Allow forty-five minutes in all, and do not build your day around it.
Checked on 29 August 2026 at Kinkaku-ji — access and fees (Shokoku-ji temple)
Other places in Kyoto
- Fushimi Inari-taishaTen thousand vermilion torii tunnelling up an entire mountain.
- Arashiyama Bamboo GroveAn avenue of giant bamboo that closes off the sky, west of the city.
- Kiyomizu-deraA timber veranda built without a nail, hanging over the city, and the waterfall the temple is named after.
- GionThe tea house quarter, timber lanes and lanterns, where geiko still pass in the late afternoon.