The sensory experience which Ando has designed begins as we approach the temple and begins to glimpse the smooth surface of the cement wings shielding the pool among the bushes and trees, and a long white gravel path. At the top of the hill, the two wings further complicate the path to the entrance to the main hall, requiring the visitor to take a tortuous route offering a variety of views over the sea and then over the temple. The lotus pool is actually the roof of the temple, which is built partly underground; and a stairway which cuts the oval shape of the pool in two.