Founded in 1647, Entsû-in was built as the private temple of Date Mitsumune, grandson of renowned warlord Date Masamune. The temple is known for its fall foliage, mirror pond, and Mitsumune’s mausoleum. The leaves, which change between October and mid-November, are also illuminated at night which draws large crowds to the temple. The mausoleum is austentaciously Edo-style architecture intended to represent palace designs, and adorned with carved roses, an import from the west.

For the casual: 8. For the educated: 5.

I was able to take a visit to the temple at the height of fall foliage and at one of the nighttime illuminations. I cannot express just how beautiful I thought this temple was. It’s a small building, but the key feature is the garden. Bathed in colored lights with little figures and a bamboo dragon the temple made, it was fun to go from curiosity to curiosity. For me the highlight of it all was the pond. Please believe me when I say I’ve never seen a more effective natural mirror in my life. I tried to photograph it, but they just didn’t do justice to the visual sentation of looking through a ring of stone and into a physical world.