On our first full day in Japan, we went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Inari is the god of rice and was seen as the patron of business. Fushimi became one of the major Imperial shrines around 965.
The shrine goes all the way into the mountains to the inner shrine. On the way to the inner shrine the path is lined with thousands of torii. Each torii was donated by a Japanese business. It's about a 2-3 hour walk to the inner shrine, but you can walk as far as you want.
We had a great time wandering along the path and snapping pictures of the beautiful orange torii. If you're in the area, you should really go check it out. It's about 15 minutes from the Gion subway station, and it's free!
{Be prepared for a lot of pictures}
{There are foxes everywhere. Foxes are regarded as the messengers. They usually have a key for the rice granary in their mouths. I'll be honest though, "What Does the Fox Say" was stuck in my head the whole time I was there.}
{You can see how far the path goes… and that's not even close to the end}
{I got a mini torii to hang for my cousin that had just passed away.}
Was that enough pictures for you guys!?! I know, I know- too many! But this place was so beautiful. The walk from the station to the shrine was beautiful- the shrine was wonderful- everything was great. And it was super easy to get to!
Basic Information:
Cost- Free!!!!
Location- Located by the JR Inari Station- along the JR Nara Line, or a short walk from the Fushimi Inari Station- along the Keihan Main Line
Hours- Always Open
{Source}
Hi! I've always wanted to visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine. We'd probably go on October and I was wondering if during the time you guys went there, were there many people?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think is the best time to go to avoid the crowd?
Anne! Fushimi Inari was such a beautiful place to visit. We loved the Kyoto area. We went during late January and there weren't really that many people. We were able to get tons of pictures without anyone in them and the further back we went into the shrine - the less people there were. I think as long as your trip doesn't fall on a Japanese holiday you should be good to go. I hope you guys have a great trip. I bet it will be beautiful in the fall.
Delete