「Kyomizudera、EMonk by kilcher

Kyomizudera (Pure Water Temple) is built into the side of Otowayama mountain on the east side of Kyoto, Japan. The original temple dates back to 780 AD and remains associated with Nara/Hosso Buddhism, the oldest sect within Japanese Buddhism. It was built without the use of nails. The people who built Kyomizudera understood. When you walk along its wooden promenade, look out over the chasm and see the mountains and trees above and the whole city of Kyoto laid out beneath your feet, you can have only one thought: This is why we build temples. You are surrounded by a sea of wooden gates, stone guardians, lanterns, pagodas and stairs that just keep going up. Then, suddenly, Kyomizudera. A temple so large you can’t even see it. Because it’s built into the mountainside, supported by 139 pillars, and all you can do is stand inside and look out. [Source]

「Kinkakuji、EGolden Pavillion originally uploaded by kilcher

Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺, Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion Temple) is the informal name of Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺, Deer Garden Temple) in Kyoto, Japan. It was originally built in 1397 to serve as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as part of his estate then known as Kitayama.^[1] It was his son who converted the building into a Zen temple of the Rinzai school. The temple was burned down twice during the Ōnin War.