Kinkaku-ji

I am not usually up early but had to change my habit in Japan, there is so much I want to see before the sun goes down on an autumn afternoon.
In my next day in Kyoto I walked to the station, a hyper modern building with all the facilities you need. Apart from the usual services for travelers you can find here restaurants and a shopping center with a great variety of food and local craft products.
At the ticket office I exchanged my Japan Rail voucher and received all the reservations for my projected journeys, and the tourist office upstairs supplied me with useful information and a day-ticket for local buses.
I wanted to go to Kinkaku-ji, apopular temple to the Northwest of Kyoto, and as all stops were announced both in Japanese and English it was not difficult to get there.
A long winding path guides the crowds through the beautiful gardens, so that you hardly notice how busy the place is. The day was overcast so the Golden Pavilion, exquisitly covered in gold leaf, did not glitter as on a brilliant day but its reflection in the Mirror Pond (Kyoko-chi) was nevertheless splendid.