Saihoji (Kokedera)

Saihoji, universally known as Kokedera (the Moss Temple), is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple whose garden is covered in over 120 varieties of moss, creating an otherworldly carpet of green that shifts in texture and tone with the light and seasons. The temple dates back to the Nara period but was redesigned in 1339 by the master Zen monk Muso Soseki, who also created the garden at Tenryu-ji. The lower garden around the Golden Pond is a strolling-style garden that inspired the design of Kinkaku-ji's famous garden, while the rarely visited upper garden contains one of Japan's oldest dry rock gardens. To preserve this fragile ecosystem, visits require advance reservation and begin with a sutra-copying ceremony (shakyo), a meditative practice that sets the contemplative tone for the garden stroll. The temple was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, and its moss gardens are considered among the most beautiful temple gardens in all of Japan.