Home to one of Japan's oldest Zen gates and a spectacular garden where stones and moss are arranged in a mesmerizing checkerboard pattern, Tofukuji earns its reputation as one of Kyoto's best temples. The Tsuten-kyo (Bridge to Heaven) spans a valley filled with maples that turn the ravine into a river of fire in autumn — one of the city's most stunning seasonal views. The 24 subtemples of the vast complex invite wandering, and the northern garden's bold geometric modernism feels startlingly contemporary for a place founded in 1236.