Saiho-ji is a good example of how an abandoned building can flourish. Founded in the 7C, restructured in the 14C by the gardener monk Soseki, twice set on fire then flooded with water, the temple finally fell into disuse. A huge variety of mosses proliferated there and are now carefully cultivated, their many shades of velvety green masking trees and stone waterfalls. You enter the site after a ceremony in which the monks recite sutras and during which you will be invited to write a text in traditional calligraphy.