The Fushimi Inari Taisha is one of Kyoto’s most iconic shrines (神社, Jinja), with its endless torii (鳥居) gates lined up one after another, making for an unforgettable sight. The shrine worships the Shinto god, Inari (稲荷, God of foxes, fertility, rice, and agriculture), the god of rice, and kitsune (狐, Fox) are thought to be Inari’s messengers. As such, you’ll find many kitsune statues throughout the shrine, some carrying a key in their mouth for the rice granaries.
The shrine is located at the base of Mount Inari (稲荷山, Inari-san), and has trails running for 4km up to its peak at 233m. The full round-trip takes about 2 to 3 hours, while the shorter route to the Yotsu-tsuji (四つ辻, lit. Fourth Intersection) takes around 1 to 1.5 hours round-trip.
At the back of the main shrine grounds, you will find the Senbon Torii (千本鳥居, lit. thousand toriis), which are rows of torii gates that follow the trail up to the top of Mount Inari and are said to number around 1,000. This tradition of donating a torii gate in order to have a wish come true, or in gratitude for a wish coming true, is said to have begun from the Edo period. This tradition continues today, and a single gate ranges from ¥400,000 to ¥1,000,000 depending on the size of the gate. At the back of each gate, you can see the donor’s name (an individual, or a company), as well as the date of donation, engraved.
For most visitors, it’s recommended to climb from the base up to the Yotsu-tsuji, which takes around 30 to 45 minutes from the base. On this route, you get to experience the densest sections of the torii gates, and also discover a nice viewpoint overlooking Kyoto. From there on, it’s a loop to the summit and back, as the scenery of the route remains about the same there-on, except with fewer gates, it’s generally not worth the hike up for the average visitor.
