kyoto, japan - kinkaku-ji temple (rokuon-ji temple)

one of my favorite temple here in kyoto.  there are over 1600 temples and shrines in kyoto, and i saw 4 temples and 2 shrines when i did the kyoto one-day tour.  i'll explain later the differences between a shrine and a temple.  

rokuon-ji temple was orginally built as a villa by ashikaga yoshimitshu, who had taken possession of a mountain villa of saionji temple in 1397.  it was converted into a temple after yoshimitsu's death. the kinkaku, or "golden pavilion" is a famous landmark in japan.  the kinkaku was burned down by a monk and his reasoning was he wanted to give it a rebirth.  he also wanted to commit suicide in the fire, but survived and was sent to jail for only 5 years due to good behavior (and especially because he was a monk).  the original kinkaku only had the top tier covered with gold.  during renovation, they decided to make the second tier in gold too.  

the tour guide told us that john lennon rented out the kinkaku for one hour for his honeymoon.  wonder how much he donated to the temple???

not sure what this is, but people were throwing coins in, so i joined in too

throughout the temple, there are little statues, which for some reason i'm obsessed with.