The Kinkaku-ji, a Zen Bud­dhist tem­ple com­mon­ly called the Gold­en Pavil­ion, stands serene­ly against Kyoto’s lush land­scape. The top two floors are cov­ered in bril­liant gold leaf that glowed warm­ly in the after­noon sun on my vis­it. In spite of the crowds, it’s a place of tran­scen­dent beau­ty, and it’s easy to see why it’s one of Japan’s most icon­ic and his­toric sites.