Kinkaku-ji

Kinkakuji (the Golden Pavilion Temple) is the common nickname of the Rokuonji temple. The building was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple's best known feature is the Golden Pavilion (kinkaku) in its garden. The entire pavilion except the basement floor is covered with pure gold leaf.