Hōnen-in is a small Pure Land temple a few minutes' walk uphill from the Philosopher's Path, easy to overlook because nothing about its location announces it. A short, mossy lane between hedges leads to a thatched-roof entrance gate flanked by two raked-sand mounds — byakusadan — whose pattern is changed by the monks every two weeks to reflect the season. The walk through the gate, with the mounds glowing faintly white in the green shade, is one of the most photographed entrances in Kyoto.
Beyond the gate, the temple grounds are intimate and shaded, with small ponds and stone bridges. The novelist Junichirō Tanizaki — The Makioka Sisters, In Praise of Shadows — is buried in the cemetery here, his grave marked only by a simple stone reading Jaku ("Silence"). The main hall is opened only for short periods in spring and autumn; the rest of the year, the grounds and the cemetery are themselves the visit.