Kyoto: Tennin-ji and Yasui-Konpiragu

Twin dragaons - Kennin-ji, a photo by girl from finito on Flickr.

I saw a picture of this roof on pintrest and put it on my list of places to see. This gorgeous roof of the Kennin-ji was done for it's 500th anniversary by the artist Junsaku Koizumi. It was inspired by the air dragons that are found on screens in the temple complex.

Kyoto: Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizudera - Kyoto, a photo by girl from finito on Flickr.

There is a good reason that Kiyomizudera is a world heritage site - it's massive, if plain, main building hangs over a small gorge almost weightlessly. It's hard to tell when you first enter the temple, but it takes on a beauty and significane when viewed from afar - with the cypress and maple trees dusting the bottom of their viewing platforms.