travel trips to Kyoto

One-day Autumn Trip to Kyoto (Part 2): Fushimi Inari Taisha

Have you ever heard of Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto?  If you haven't, you should check this out because this is a pretty unique place to visit, other than famous temples and shrines in Kyoto.  

We can make a one-day trip from Nagoya to Kyoto.  This time, we visited the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha or Fushimi Inari Shrine, one of the most famous and beautiful shrines in Japan.  I

t is located in the south of Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, and has thousands of vermilion gates aligned along the mountain path, with some Shinto shrines dedicated to wealth and happiness in the mountain.  There are small trails forking to some smaller hidden shrines in the mountain.

We can enjoy walking up to the mountain top, but it takes at least one hour one way to reach there.  However, the closer you get to the top, the fewer people you see walking.  This enables us to walk at our own pace without bumping into other people.  Also, we can enjoy fresher air while viewing colored trees on the mountain sides.

Here are some pictures taken there.  Another post, one-day autumn trip to Kyoto (part 3) shows youtube video depicting some part of the actual mountain hiking through the thousands of vermilion gates.

The Entrance to Fushimi Inari Taisha 

The black fox, the deity of this shrine, capturing gold/fortune in its mouth, guards the entrance of this Shrine.  The stone pillar says "Fushimi Inari Taisha" in Japanese.  

From this gate on, you will start seeing a bunch of vermilion gates lined up along the mountain.  

Kanji, Japanese characters, on each vermilion gate show the name or the company name of the donors.  The characters on the right pillar shows the year when the donation is done, while the left shows the donor.  

This is not the end of the path.  As you can see another vermilion gate (a small one in the center), the path still leads you into the mountain!!  Keep walking up!!