Rarely visited and tucked away at the foot of Kyoto’s Otagi Mountain, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji is a temple that feels worlds apart from the polished shrines and crowds of nearby Arashiyama. Moss-laden, quiet and steeped in a peculiar charm, it is best known for the 1,200 stone Rakan statues that dot its grounds, each a unique, hand-carved representation of one of Buddha’s disciples. Their expressions range from joyful to meditative, grinning, laughing, sipping sake, or caught in sil

Formally known as Rokuonji, the Golden Pavilion is richly adorned with shimmering pure gold leaf and casts an impressive reflection off the surrounding waters of Kyōko-chi, the mirror pond. An icon of Japanese architecture, it is listed as a ‘Historic Monument of Ancient Kyoto’ as a World Heritage Site. The pavilion’s striking beauty, especially when mirrored in the still waters below, exemplifies the harmony between architecture and nature that defines traditional Japanese d

Tucked away in the misty northwestern hills of Kyoto, the secluded temple of Adashino Nenbutsuji rests in quiet solemnity. Surrounded by bamboo groves and age-old trees, it is both picturesque and profoundly haunting. In antiquity, this hillside was a final destination for the forgotten dead, those who passed with no family, no mourners and no names.