Eikan-dō (Zenrin-ji)

Eikan-dō is where locals go when they want autumn leaves without the Kiyomizu-dera crowds. The temple sits in the hills of eastern Kyoto with over 3,000 maple trees that turn the grounds into a furnace of red, orange, and gold every November — and during the special nighttime illumination, the trees are lit from below and reflected in a pond, creating a mirror effect that makes people forget to breathe.

The temple's most unusual feature is its principal Buddha statue, which is looking backwards over its left shoulder — the only Amida Buddha in Japan depicted in this pose. The legend says that the monk Eikan was walking around the hall chanting when the statue suddenly stepped down from its pedestal and began walking ahead of him. Eikan stopped in astonishment, and the Buddha looked back and said 'Eikan, you're too slow.' The statue has been frozen in that over-the-shoulder pose ever since.

The temple complex climbs the hillside through a series of covered walkways connecting halls and sub-temples, and the views from the Tahōtō pagoda at the top extend across the treeline to the city below. The November nighttime illumination runs from mid-November to early December and is ticketed separately — the queues can be long, but the experience of walking through a grove of illuminated maples reflected in dark water is worth every minute of waiting.