Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), Kyoto, Japan
The Silver Pavilion was never actually covered in silver — the shogun ran out of money or time, depending on which account you believe. The unfinished quality became part of the aesthetic. The dry garden's cone of raked sand, called 'Moon Viewing Platform,' is the kind of understated detail Kyoto does better than anywhere. Rijksmuseum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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