Saihō-ji in Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto's Saihō-ji temple, also known as the Moss Temple, has taken an unusual approach to tourism. While thousands of visitors flock to Kyoto's most famous sites, this temple has done the opposite — it's worked to limit rather than encourage visitation. Per Atlas Obscura, since nineteen seventy-seven, Saihō-ji has required advance reservations by postcard and asks visitors to participate in a spiritual activity, usually copying a Buddhist sutra, before entering the garden. The reward: a breathtaking landscape drenched in over one hundred twenty varieties of moss. Though the policy has made it less famous than Kyoto's most crowded temples, those who make the effort tend to experience something rare — a quiet, reverent space where visitors leave with a deep sense of wonder.

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