Where Kinkaku-ji is the Gold Temple, Ginkaku-ji is the Silver Temple. Another temple built by a Tokugawa Shogun, Ginkaku-ji was apparently intended to be coated in Silver, but the plan wasn't brought to fruition due to the death of the Shogun. The temple itself isn't terribly remarkable amongst a plethora of remarkable buildings available in Kyouto. However, it was built in 1482 and has not burned down since then which is fairly amazing. What distinguishes Ginkaku-ji is its gardens.
This is one of the temples in the Ginkaku-ji area. The namesake temple was not photographed by Peter. This temple is interesting, but not as flat-out cool as Kinkaku-ji.
On the side of the building you can see one of the rock gardens that makes Ginkaku-ji special. It's a bed of very small pebbles that are very carefully raked and tended every day. Armies of garden-tenders were hanging around the place.
Here's a closeup of the rock garden and one of its tree islands. Gardens were often designed to simulate the sea, especially in Kyouto which is a bit removed from the sea. The tree is like an island in the sea. The rake marks are waves.
This rock garden is quite a bit larger than the others. Apparently it is designed to be enjoyed by moonlight.
Kim is standing in front of a non-rock garden, which Ginkaku-ji also has plenty of. The trees are all very carefully shaped.
Finally we came to a grove of bamboo that was separated from the garden, but we thought were pretty neat.