In the summer of 2017, I lived in Kyoto, Japan for two months for an internship.  During that summer I spent much time during weekends visiting historical sites around Kyoto. Byodo-In was at the top of my travel as it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is also printed on the Japanese ten yen coin. This Buddhist temple was originally built in 1052 AC. It was built to visualize Buddhist paradise. 

‘Byodo’ means equality or symmetry, and ‘In’ means temple. As the name suggests, it has a perfectly symmetric facade that consists of a central hall storing the Buddha statue, and two wings on each side. The entire structure stands on an artificially made lake. The reflection on the water surface creates a visual effect as if the temple is floating. 

The central hall is filled with ornate wood carvings, metal sculptures, and paintings. It was a very spiritual experience to see the world that Buddhists from 900 years ago imagined and spent hours creating.