The three-storey pavilion covered in brilliant gold leaf, topped with a bronze phoenix, shimmers above its reflecting pond like a vision from another world. Originally built in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, it was burned down by an obsessed monk in 1950 — an act immortalized in Mishima Yukio's haunting novel. The 1955 reconstruction extends the gold foil to all floors and blazes even brighter than the original. Beyond the dazzling main hall, look for the Ryumon-taki waterfall and the wabi-sabi teahouse Sekka-tei near the exit.