Located at 68 Fukakusa Yabunouchichu Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City in Kyoto Prefecture, Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) is a shrine that's famous for the thousands of torii gates inside its vicinity.
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Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) |
Fushimi Inari Shrine Details:
Fushimi Inari Shrine, locally called Fushimi Inari Taisha, is currently the head shrine of the more than 40,000 Inari Shrines scattered throughout Japan. It is also one of the oldest in Kyoto City. The entire shrine complex actually consists of five shrines found on different parts of the slopes of Mt. Inari.
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The first Torii that you'd see from Inari Station |
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Great Torii of Fushimi Inari Shrine |
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Fushimi Inari Shrine's Romon no Kitsune |
Like what was mentioned, what makes this vast shrine a well-known destination for tourists is the thousands of torii gates that sometimes create picturesque vermilion tunnels. The keen-eyed will also notice that there are hundreds of stone fox statues within the shrine grounds. This is actually due to the fact that foxes are considered messengers of Inari, the god of cereals.
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Here are a few of the Inari fox statues in Fushimi Inari Taisha grounds |
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Don't forget to wash your hands in the chozuya before entering shrine grounds |
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Checking out the map of Fushimi Inari Taisha grounds |
Although cereals are my favorite breakfast food, we didn't come to Fushimi Inari Shrine to pray for an abundance of it but to actually see the torii gates and also hike Mt. Inari which I failed to visit during my first visit five years ago.
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Fushimi Inari Taisha Gehaiden |
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Fushimi Inari Taisha Haiden or Main Shrine |
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Kami-Massha Tamayama Inari-sha |
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Check out these Kitsune Emas |
I first visited Fushimi Inari Shrine with my wife and then 1-year-old daughter Ella last 2014. During the said visit, it was obviously impossible for me to hike Mt. Inari, so I vowed to return one day to accomplish that goal. We just explored the shrine which is at the foot of the mountain. You can read about that visit HERE. My wife, daughter, and I revisited Kyoto last 2018 but we didn't include Fushimi Inari Shrine in our itinerary.
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Check out this crowd |
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My brother checking out the scenic torii gates |
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Fushimi Inari Taisha's world-famous torii gates |
I finally got to set foot at the shrine grounds again during the 5th day of our 2019 Japan Trip but this time with my brother Patrick. Before hiking the mountain, we didn't miss out on taking pictures with the beautiful torii gates. Just like before, exploring the lower areas particularly the famed Senbon Torii or the area with rows of around 1000 torii gates proved to be challenging as the said area sees the most foot traffic.
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Neagarimatsu |
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Ichinomine (Kamisha shinseki) at the peak of Mt. Inari |
If you're eager to get that solo picture for your social media accounts, there is a high chance to have the place for yourself if you visit very early in the morning or at night when there are only a handful of visitors in the vicinity of Fushimi Inari Shrine.
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Ninomine (Nakashashinseki) |
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Check out the view from Fushimi Inari Yotsuji |
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Back to the foot of the mountain |
As for me and my brother, we found out that the higher we get up Mt. Inari, the lesser the crowd gets. We also discovered that there are plenty of picturesque spots to see and discover along the way. Well, I love to talk more about our hike but I would reserve that for another article.
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The Backpack Adventures revisits Fushimi Inari Shrine 2019 |
Fushimi Inari Shrine Admission Fee:
It is FREE to explore any part of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. You may donate some of your coins in the coin boxes in front of the Main Shrine and the sub-shrines in the shrine vicinity.
Fushimi Inari Shrine Opening Hours:
Fushimi Inari Shrine is open 24 hours 24/7.
Why visit Fushimi Inari Shrine?
Overall, our experience in Fushimi Inari Shrine remains one of the most memorable among all the places we've visited so far. I highly suggest that you include this to your itinerary when you visit Kyoto City. This place is one of the most Instagram-able places in Kyoto City. Aside from that, you can also start your hike to Mt. Inari from this shrine.
Getting to Fushimi Inari Shrine:
From Kyoto Station, ride the JR Nara line and board down at Inari Station. From there, walk for about a minute to reach Fushimi Inari Shrine.
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Welcome to Inari Station |
Train Fare: 150 yen
Travel Time: 5 minutes
Ratings:
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Crowd
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Cleanliness |
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Overall rating
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Your photo of the torii gate without people is amazing. I like it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I hope you are inspired to visit Fushimi Inari SHrine in the future.
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