Top 10 Classical Treasures of JAPAN / World Heritage
Today we are going to talk about the Classical Wonders of Japan in our Top Ten. In some video we had already shown you the natural wonders, the natural treasures of Japan. In this case we are going to show you what we think are the classic wonders that exist in Japan.
Virtually all of these are constructions, they are buildings made by human beings, not natural, which allude to the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, which is why they are the classic wonders. For classic wonders let’s say they are buildings that are at least 100 to 200 years old or older. And also that it represents something in the history of Japan. Of course, that it has a special cultural value within the history of Japan, not only because of its beauty but also because of its historical significance, its moment, etc.
Obviously there are many more wonderful buildings and places in Japan, we are not saying that these are the only ones, we are not saying that they are the most beautiful or that they are the must-sees to visit, they are simply what we consider to be truly priceless jewels within Japanese culture, and well, without further ado, we are starting.
kinkakuji
It is the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. It’s very pretty, it’s in the middle of a lake and the view is amazing, it’s beautiful. Basically it is a zen temple, now it is a buddhist temple. He had it made by a Shogun, he was a believer within this sect so it was his wish that they continue to use it for this purpose after his death. He is a jewel in the eyes, he is sweet to the eyes, I had the great fortune to go see him, to meet him with my family when I was younger with my parents. It is currently so famous that unfortunately it is very little time that people can stop to see it, take a picture almost immediately and continue walking but before it was easier to see it. It has never been possible to enter, that is, it is possible to enter for people but not for visitors, and it is covered with gold leaves.
This building looks very beautiful, the scenery looks very beautiful in any season. In winter, in fact, you can even see the snow on top of the lake, it looks very beautiful. And it’s a very rich gold glitter, don’t think it looks dull. For example, there is another building, another temple called the “Ginkakuji” silver temple that was actually built by the grandson of this shogun, he ordered it inspired by the “kinkakuji” and the “ginkakuji” if it has silver but unfortunately the silver, since it ages very quickly and darkens and most of the exterior is wooden so when you see it you don’t really see a wooden building I mean silver, you see a wooden building. So it makes you feel a bit freaky but in the case of the “Kinkakuji” it’s perfectly golden and unmistakable. And one thing that we also have to clarify with practically all the buildings in Japan is that they are always rebuilt, not necessarily because they are damaged, that is, if there have been fires, some due to earthquakes, others due to war conflicts, etc. but even when the building is perfect it is rebuilt from time to time as part of the maintenance.
