Fushimi Inari Shrine is probably THE most popular tourist destination in Kyoto and possibly all of Japan. It’s so popular…. I almost thought about skipping it, because pushing my way through a huge crowd in the 90 degree heat and trying to get some decent photos didn’t sound like my idea of a good time.
But skipping that hike up Mt. Inari surrounded by thousands of torii gates would have been a huge mistake. It was one of my favorite experiences from my entire 11 day Japan-zaganza and should not be missed if you find yourself anywhere near Kyoto.
During this post, I want to give you an idea of what to expect during your trip to Fushimi Inari and talk about some of my pro tips for getting the most out of the whole experience. I also mainly want to share with you the dozens of pictures I took to inspire you to get yourself out to this mountaintop masterpiece.
What is it?
Fushimi Inari is an ancient shinto shrine dating back prior to 794 A.D. It is comprised of a series of 32,000 torii gates and 12,000 steps leading up a trail on Mt. Inari. In reality, it isn’t just one shrine, but is actually many hundreds of shrines and sub shrines connected by torii gates and speckled in with countless foxes. Let me explain all the things so it makes a bit more sense to you.
Shinto is the ancient religion of Japan which is based on a ritualistic practices and shrines that are each devoted to a specific purpose. Some think of it as a sub-category of Buddhism, but Shinto is actually it’s own religion entirely and based exclusively in Japan. A torii gate, is a bright reddish/orange gate which marks the transition from the average/ worldly to the sacred and is always placed before a shrine.
In the Shinto tradition, Inari is the god of rice, and general prosperity. His messengers are thought to be foxes, hence the many foxes scattered throughout the shrine as well.
For the Fushimi Inari shrine, specifically, each of the torii gates was donated and is engraved with the name of the person or company who donated that gate.
Where is it?
Mt. Inari (which is where the shrine is located) is about a 10-15min subway ride south of Kyoto’s city center. It is super easy and convenient to get to on any of the subway lines.
When to go?
Get there early. Like legitimately 6-7am early. I know that is something you always hear when traveling ” just get there early to beat the crowds” and probably something that you rarely follow, because, you know… sleeping in and stuff. But with this particular experience, getting there early changes everything.
My friend and I got there at 7:30 am in a torrential downpour and were lucky enough to have almost the entire place to ourselves. It seriously changed the whole experience from what I would have imagined to be frustrating with a dash of wonder and awe to absolutely magical and breathtaking.
I’m sure it would have still been beautiful at 9am with all of the other tourists, but for us… it was more than beautiful. It was the most memorable, fantastic experience of the trip. So, moral of the story is, get there early. It is worth it, I promise. The shrine itself is open 24/7 so there is really nothing keeping you from getting there as soon as the sun is up.
A magical torii gate experience
Once you enter the grounds of Fushimi Inari, you will see the main shrine where you are expected to give a small donation (100 yen is perfectly fine) to pay your respects to Inari. There is no actual entry fee for the shrine, so think of this as your spiritual entry fee.
From the main shrine you can follow signs directing you up the Mt. Inari trail. The entire hike up the mountain is marked with thousands of torii gates so it is essentially impossible to get lost. Just follow the red gate road. The hike itself probably takes about 1-2 hours up and 30 minutes down depending on how often you stop and take pictures, which for us was quite a lot.
There are multiple points to stop along the way up to admire all of the many sub shrines and mini torii gates that adorn them. There are so many torii gates of all sizes, it is actually unreal.
When you are about 20 minutes from the top there is a beautiful observation point where you can look out on the city of Kyoto. This is the only real view point of the hike, because at the actual top of the hike, there is another large shrine, but due to all of the trees and such, no panoramic views of the city at that point.
Words cannot adequately express how amazing this experience was. Hopefully my pictures have inspired you to check it out for yourself so that you can revel in all the majesty that is Fushimi Inari.
