5 Best Sights in Kyoto, Japan

The arrangement of stones amid the raked sand of this temple's rock garden is appropriately solemn for a National Treasure and UNESCO World Heritage site. The simple composition, a photograph in many schoolchildren's textbooks, can be viewed as a contemplative oasis or a riddle to challenge the mind. From any single vantage point, only 14 of the 15 stones can be seen. In the Buddhist tradition the number 15 signifies completion, and the garden's message is interpreted by many to be that completion is not possible in this world. As mystical as the experience is for some visitors, first-timers may find themselves mystified at the garden's fame. This is a setting that changes with every viewing, reflecting the maturity of the onlooker as years pass. The stroll garden beyond the temple building remains much as it was originally designed in the 11th century.

Also known as Kokedera or the "Moss Temple," the monks who run this temple and garden complex require visitors to perform a task upon arrival to prepare them to appreciate fully the alternative realm they are entering. After sitting quietly, you're given an inkstone, a brush, and a sheet of tracing paper covering a shakyo, or sutra, that you are encouraged to trace. The exercise complete, you may enter the grounds, with a calm and perhaps awakened spirit, and stroll at your leisure.

The inspiration for the temple's name becomes apparent as you observe the gently swirling greens and blues the 120 varieties of moss create throughout the garden. Designed by the monk Suso Soseki (1275–1351), the garden was a forerunner of later contemplative Zen gardens. This garden, designed on two levels surrounding a pond shaped like the Chinese character for heart, represents Jodo, the western paradise of Buddhism. Permission is required to visit Koinzan Saiho-ji. The simplest ways to arrange a visit are to ask your hotel's concierge, contact the Kyoto Tourist Information Center, or apply directly via the website or by mail. It's best to apply at least a month ahead, however, as the limited spaces fill up quickly.

A century-old villa (the name means "inn of white sand") with a large stroll garden, this was once the home of the painter Kansetsu Hashimoto (1883–1945). Combining influences from various Japanese periods and drawing inspiration from Chinese imagery, Hashimoto created a unique style of painting. A new museum contains many of Hashimoto's sketches and paintings, as well as works by his Chinese and Japanese contemporaries and an enthralling collection of Greek and Persian pottery. An exquisite stone garden and a teahouse are also open to the public. If you book at least two days in advance, it's possible to experience a complete tea ceremony. Adjacent to the estate is the Noa Noa café, which serves light casual fare from ¥1,500.

Japan's oldest public botanical garden has been welcoming visitors since 1924 and features a huge variety of plants and flowers from around the world, including Japan's famous bonsai. The sprawling gardens are filled with seasonal blooms, so colorful displays are guaranteed throughout the year. It also happens to be one of the best places in the city to catch cherry blossoms in the spring or the stunning tones of autumn in the fall. The showpiece conservatory is home to over 4,000 kinds of flora, divided into tropical collections, desert environs, and an alpine temperate zone.

Ogawa Jihei (1860–1932), a leading landscape architect of the Meiji period, departed from tradition in developing this late-19th-century garden whose rolling expanses of English-style lawn represent the first use of this type of ground cover within a Japanese garden. The blending of Western and Japanese influences can also be detected in some of the architecture and interiors of this estate, once part of Nanzen-ji, that was commissioned by Arimoto Yamagata, twice Japan's prime minister in the late 19th century. The paths of Murin-an, a small but classic Meiji stroll garden, meander along converging streams and past a three-tier waterfall. The garden's southern section is almost always in shadow, creating wonderful contrasts. To maintain the serene atmosphere and to limit overcrowding, a reservation system is now in place (see the garden's website for the reservation form); however, you can enter without a reservation when it's not busy.