I spent yesterday exploring the shopping areas of Kyoto city center, but today, I planned to see the big attractions. First on my itinerary was a visit the famous Fushimi Inari-taisha temple.
I walked to Kyoto station, which is just 15 minutes from Shiori-an GuesthouseThat’s Kyoto station, panorama styleIt’s very easy to get to the shrine by train. Just buy a ¥140 ticket to Fushimi Inari Station and hop on a train on the JR Nara line.The train ride to Inari station takes less than 10 minutes. It’s the very next stop.And as soon as you exit JR Inari station, voila! That’s the entrance to Fushimi Inari-taishaThere is no entrance feeHere is a map of the Fushimi Inari-taisha. There are a few temples below but as you climb the mountain, you will walk through the famous red-ish, orange (vermillion?) wooden pillar gates (called toriis in Japanese) all the way to the top.Everything is of the same colour, including the templesFushimi Inari is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. As per their mythology, foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers. So you will see many fox statues across the shrine and up the mountainOkay, let the climbing commence!
At first, these are the toriis you will seeThese toriis aren’t where Fushimi Inari is photographed the mostThis section of smaller toriis makes for far more popular photographyBut it’s not easy to photograph from inside. I only had a split second to take a photo of the pathway with either one tourist or none.I decided to move on and capture more photos in the smaller section on the way backFox cards you can draw on I guessFrom the sideFrom the topYou will climb downAnd climb up. Mostly up.Oh, if you haven’t guessed, the toriis are made using woodIf you think the torii pillars are clean red, they’re not. They are each inscribed with the names of the people who sponsor them. But you have to face them in the other direction to see itLook to the side of the trail and you may see a stream flowing downhillAs you climb up, you will see multiple smaller shrines and sculptures donated by worshipersThe foxes are always looking over you as you trek up the mountainIf you want to relax and take a break, this lake is certainly one of the best spots for itI resumed my journey uphillEven though I hate steps, I had some desire in me to reach the top of the mountain.Thankfully there are rest stops along the way. Some are eateries but there are public toilets and benches along the way.Lucky kid!Halfway up the mountain, there is a viewpoint where you get panoramic views of Kyoto cityStill more to climbCats up here enjoy some chilled shrine waterI kept my camera away, so that I could climb quicker and after 15 minutes, I finally made it to the topYay, I made it! 233 metres high.So what’s up here? A shrine…And smaller tribute toriis all stacked upAfter a short break, I began the descentI went back down another pathI would still make brief stops wherever there was a store to give my feet some restThere are serene spots galore on this mountainOn the way back, you will see all the scriptures on the toriis. To sponsor one of these toriis costs a minimum of ¥400,000 and most are paid for by businesses hoping for good fortune and prosperity.I made it back to the viewpoint
I sat down for a while and had something to eat as it was nearing lunchtime.
Shot this using the 70-200mm lens. No skyscrapers in Kyoto. Wondering if its because no investor wants to take a risk after the 1992 Kobe earthquake.I took out my phone to take some snapsTook a selfie since I hardly take any photos of myselfI resumed my walk back downI wonder if all these donors are themselves responsible for the maintenance of their toriiI was trying different ways to photograph the toriisAnother panorama I took from a spot with some open space on the sideThere are around 10,000 such torii on this mountainI was back at the small torii section, known as Senbon ToriiIt was still crowded but I patiently waited for a chance to take photos with as few tourists in the frame as possibleThis is how little the gap is in between toriisI turned around when I noticed, for a split second, the hallway was clear of touristsBut it wasn’t long the tourists came back into frame. I took one more selfie and decided to leave.I made it back out. You’ll need a minimum of 2 hours if you want to climb all the way up to the top and back down. That said, I’d suggest only making it up to the viewpoint, because you don’t see anything substantial at the top of the mountain (honestly, it’s a hill)That’s the JR Fushimi Inari station. It’s that close to Fushimi Inari shrine entrance.I didn’t feel like leaving just yet, so I walked around to see a bit of Fushimi wardFushimi certainly benefits from tourismI didn’t really know where I was going. I just walked… like I always do.I’m guessing this is the inter-city line?The smaller towns of Japan have a nice charm to it that I really loveI was at another railway crossingAnother train line I supposeOne thing I noticed while walking around Fushimi — not as many young people out and about. Is it because many of them are in Kyoto for work? I saw a lot more seniors thoughThe cycle support infrastructure is very impressive in Japan. To the left is a free type of parking space and to the right is a paid parking spotI decided to head back to Fushimi station. I dropped by the Lawson convenience store, picked up a croquette and walked back.I was in awe of how neatly designed the roads areI ate my Croquette and had something to drink before boarding the train
Back in Kyoto city, I would visit Kinkaku-ji, Kyomizu Dera and at night, Gion Corner — but all that’s in the next post.
