Traveling to Kyoto is high on the wishlist for most tourists who come to Japan. The city is home to countless shrines, golden temples, and walls of bamboo forest and hidden gems amidst the canals.

Just inside the imposing wooden gate at the temple grounds of Ryozen-ji in Japan, I’m transfixed by shimmering koi fish dashing around a sunlit pond. Watching the changing patterns of red, white, ...