Three of Kyoto’s major temples are located within a 40 minute walk of each other in the northwestern quadrant of the city. Of these Kinkaku-ji – also known as the Golden Pavilion – is probably the best known. And while all three are temples, they each have different characteristics which makes a morning or afternoon spent exploring this area, a nicely contained visit.

I started at Kinkaku-ji and although there are a gazillion photos on the net of this temple, I was still in awe even though it was a cold, wet winter day. I can imagine how it much brighter it could be on a sunny day.

After leaving Kinkaku-ji, I walked southwestward to Ryoan-ji. This was around a 20 minute walk. One of the first things I saw on entering Ryoan-ji, is its lake.

But Ryoan-ji is actually famous for its zen garden. I sat down for a little while, like others did, to stare – contemplate, apparently – at the stones. No one really knows the meaning of the stones.

After contemplating, I left Ryoan-ji with a walk around the other side of its lake. There were some ducks in the water and truly beautiful early winter foliage.

The final temple on my walk was Ninna-ji, which is a much bigger temple complex, comprising a few separate buildings, than both Kikaku-ji and Ryoan-ji. The entrance is marked by a majestic gate.

The walk between Ryoan-ji and Ninna-ji is around 20 minutes. So all in, inclusive of the time at each temple, I spent just shy of four hours visiting these three temples. By the time I finished, it was close to 1pm (the temples open to visitors at 9am) and I was ready for a good lunch. If you are in Kyoto for just a couple of days, you may want to just focus on Kinkaku-ji.