The Amazing Race Asia, Kyoto (11), Kinkakuji temple and Nijo castle

This two building is very popular as a tourist attraction in Kyoto. Many people, not only Japanese but also a lot of foreign people come to this two places. This places is also included in Kyoto tourist map and passed by tourist city bus. :D

The building in the left is Kinkakuji-Temple. Kinkakuji means a Golden Pavilion. Kinka means Gold, while there is another temple called Ginkakuji that means the silver temple. The pavilion located in the middle of the lake, and surrounded by a beautiful garden with luxuriant trees. In the autumn, the leaves will be in red color and it is really beautiful!

You need to pay to enter the Kinkakuji temple complex, only for 400 yen. Kinkakuji was inscribed as World Cultural Heritage in 1994, because the temple and garden remains as it was in former days and can be enjoyed as it was hundreds of years ago :D

The other building is Nijo castle, or known as Nijo-jo. This castle was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. The castle is surrounded by a trench and has a high wall as a guard for the main building. Like the kinkakuji temple, Nijo-jo was listed as World Cultural Heritage in 1994.

Of course, to enter this castle you need to pay around 600-800 yen (I forget the exact price). This complex is very big area, with total site area is 275.000 m2, included total buildings area are 7.300 m2.

Inside the castle, you can see a beautiful garden and pond which will give you a calm and compose feeling if you walk in there. And in the night, there is night time illumination in the trees which is very beautiful. :)