Photo of the Day – The Silent Golden Pavilion – Kyoto, Japan

The Golden Pavilion is regarded by many to be one of the top tourist attractions in all of Japan. While the scene of the silent golden structure across the zen-like pond is certainly beautiful, it definitely is not one of the Top 100 places on the planet to visit. Honestly, it doesn’t even belong on a Top 250 places list. It just doesn’t fit into any of the three criteria – massive scale, intricately detailed and/or seriously old.

The Golden Temple is symbolic in a strange way for me. It is a reminder that finding the unbelievable and fascinating in Japan is not as simple as paying an admission fee and snapping pictures of a globally renowned tourist attraction for 15 minutes. Japan’s true beauty lies in it’s unique and beautifully different culture which is sewn deeply into every member of their predominantly homogenous society.

Japan should absolutely be at the top of everyone’s travel lists, however don’t get lost searching for physical wonders of the world (there are 0 AbsoluteVisits in Japan). Plan your trip around diving deep into Japanese culture and you will undoubtedly walk away with the trip of a lifetime.