Tonight I have been thinking of Kinkaku-ji or The Temple of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan.

I took these pictures during a trip to Kyoto almost three years ago.

Here we can see the beautiful Golden Pavilion on a snowy day. This was taken during a short lull in the snow showers. The sun had come out from behind the clouds and there is a really nice reflection of the pavilion in the pond.

Here is a closeup of the phoenix on the peak of the roof. If you look closely you can see the snow flakes falling from the sky.

The upper two stories of the pavilion are covered with gold leaf which give the name Kinkaku-ji or Golden Pavilion.

The current structure was built in 1955 after the original pavilion burned down. The original structure was a villa that was built in 1397 and later converted to a temple.

I really like this picture as you can see the snow laden branches along with the sunlit pavilion. It looks so peaceful.

The building is officially known as Rokuon-ji or Deer Garden Temple, but is almost always referred to as the Golden Pavilion.

This site is one of Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto that together are designated as a World Heritage Site.

Here is one more view of the pavilion taken from up on the hill behind it. The building is so beautiful, especially with the snow covered roof.

This heavy of a snowfall is rare in Kyoto. I was there at just the right time to get these wonderful pictures.

You can also see a picture of the Silver Pavilion that I took the same day in my post Japan Memories.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of this beautiful pavilion.

Steven