Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of the god Inari, located in Fushimi Ward in Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is 233 metres (764 ft) above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) and take approximately 2 hours to walk up.  Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.

You can easily get to here through the JR Nara Line which stops at Inari Line which is located right in front of the entrance. Another line would be the Keihan Main Line which stops at Fushimi Inari Line but you need to do a short 5 minutes walk to the entrance.

While the primary reason most foreign visitors come to Fushimi Inari Shrine is to explore the mountain trails, the shrine buildings themselves are also attractive. At the shrine's entrance stands the Romon Gate, which was donated in 1589 by the famous leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Behind stands the shrine's main hall (honden) where visitors should pay respect to the resident deity by making a small offering.

The shrine became the object of imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami decreed that messengers carry written accounts of important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines, including the Inari Shrine. From 1871 through 1946, Fushimi Inari-taisha was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.

At the very back of the shrine's main grounds is the entrance to the torii gate-covered hiking trail, which starts with two dense, parallel rows of gates called Senbon Torii ("thousands of torii gates"). The torii gates along the entire trail are donations by individuals and companies, and you will find the donator's name and the date of the donation inscribed on the back of each gate. The cost starts around 400,000 yen for a small sized gate and increases to over one million yen for a large gate.

This place to be honest is very crowded from 9.00am until 6.00pm. It is free entrance so that's why this place is a must visit by all tourists. If you do not want the crowd, here is a great news for you, this place is open for 24 hours. I don't know if you are brave enough to visit here in the middle of the night, it is quite eerie. I had a goosebumps when I was walking alone with my son where no other people around us.

The earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto, but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kūkai.

He was very tired at that time. He just wanted to sit down and rest, however with my support and encouragement, we decided to try our best to climb up as far as we can. The more we climb the torii gate is getting smaller and lesser. Even the crowd is getting lesser too.

The hike to the summit of the mountain and back takes about 2-3 hours, however, visitors are free to walk just as far as they wish before turning back. Along the way, there are multiple smaller shrines with stacks of miniature torii gates that were donated by visitors with smaller budgets. There are also a few restaurants along the way, which offer locally themed dishes such as Inari Sushi and Kitsune Udon ("Fox Udon"), both featuring pieces of aburaage (fried tofu), said to be a favorite food of foxes.

Initially I wanted to reach the Yotsutsuji intersection roughly half way up the mountain, where some nice views over Kyoto can be enjoyed, and the trail splits into a circular route to the summit. However, we failed to reach there as the sky is getting dark and our stamina were draining out. So with a heavy heart, we decided to give up our advancement. My son was so happy as if he regain his energy again and started to walk all the way back down. I will definitely come again one day to complete the climb and take more great pictures without so many visitors.

Total Damage: Free
Ambiance: 3/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Price: 5/5
Recommended?: Yes! Must be in your bucket list!