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!
