After a mid-morning visit to the Fushimi Inari Shrine on the previous day on our three week trip to Japan, Im back early in the morning to avoid the crowds and undertake the hike up to the top of the sacred Mount Inari. Fushimi Inari is the most important Shinto site in Japan, dedicated to Inari, the God (Kami) of Rice, with a trail going up to the top of Mount Inari which forms part of the shrine grounds. The shrine is known for its thousands of vermilion torii gates and attracts a lot of visitors – about 10 million tourists every year. A friendly warning – if you don’t like red gates, stop reading now!
Unlike the previous day, at 7am there’s only handful of people at the entry gate and the main shrine, which is at the foot of Mount Inari. Visiting all the shrines on the mountains (called Oyama-meguri, or mountain pilgrimage) covers a total distance of about 4km.
Near the first gate is a statue of a fox, which (although not as numerous as the tori gates) is a frequent sight: these iconic statues, known as Inari foxes or kitsune, serve as shrine guardians. In Japanese folklore, foxes are thought to possess heightened intelligence and longevity, and white foxes are said to be Inari’s chosen messenger, serving as guardians against evil spirits. Their red bibs reflect the fact that red is the color of the gods, warding off disease and malevolent energy.
The entire path to the top of Mount Inari is lined by red torii gates, and after a short walk at the Senbon Torii (千本鳥居, Thousand Torii) the trail splits into an “up” path and a “down” path, to cater for the high pedestrian traffic.
All the torii gates along the path at Fushimi Inari Shrine have been donated by Japanese companies, a practice started in the Edo period, in the hope of receiving prosperity. On the back of each gate is the name of the person or company who donated the torii and the date (based on the Japanese imperial year) and on the front atre two kanji (奉納) which mean “donated” or “offered”. They range from 400,000 yen for a smaller gate to over 1,000,000 yen for a large gate.
The number of gates on Mount Inari is said to be 10,000, but the number may well be higher… the gates form a never-ending river of red that stretches for almost 4km.
It’s almost disconcerting when there’s a break in the arches… although they never last very long!
The trail starts to ascend more steeply up Mount Inari.
There’s the first of many smaller shrines along the path, with more Inari foxes.
Another small shrine has what looks like a crocodile… or maybe it’s a dragon?
The trail reaches Yotsusuji, a rest area at the top of the main trail., which offers a nice view over Kyoto.
Kojingamine (Tanakasha Shinseki) – Left Trail
The loop trail to the Mount Inari summit starts here, but first I take the most easterly (left) trail, which is a set of stairs that heads steeply up.
At the top of the steps is the Kojingamine (Tanakasha Shinseki) shrine, where the deity Gondayu Okami is worshipped. (I discover later that behind the shrine is stunning view of the Kyoto city centre, but I miss this.)
It’s a photogenic shrine, with the red bibs and torii gates standing our against the grey stones.
Fushimi-Inari Summit Loop
From the Yotsusuji rest area, I continue my journey to the Mount Inari summit, taking the loop walk in a clockwise direction.
There are more small shrines along the ascending trail.
There are also more stretches without torii gates, providing a glimpse of the forest which covers Mount Inari.
It’s a scenic section of the walk, and there are still very few people around as the day begins to get brighter.
At the summit of summit of Mount Inari (233m) is the by Kami-no-Yashiro shrine.
There’s no view from the top, just are thousands of tsuka (mounds) for private worship.
The trail now descends, back to Yotsusuji and still lined with red torii gates, which now seem to glow with the rising sun.
There’s more shrines and more photogenic gates as the trails descend.
Although I feel that I’ve photographed enough torii gates to last me a lifetime, now that the sun is well and truly up, the gates seem to glow in an almost unnatural way.
I’m soon back at Yotsusuji, which completes the Mount Inari summit loop. At the base of the mountain is the large torii gate where the trail starts and finishes.
I re-trace my steps for the next few hundred metres as I descend – it’s one of the only times I’m on the same trail
Mitsutsuji Crossroad
At the Mitsutsuji cross-road (“Trifurcated Road”), continue straight ahead; this lesser-used trail isn’t lined with torii gates and hence is much less popular. By now, I have more than enough photos of red gates and this route passes some more shrines and interesting sights.
The first of the Fushimi Inari sub-shrines are the Mainichi Inari Ōkami and Fushimi Toyokawa Inari Shrine
There’s a series of shrines and temples along the road, some with beautiful gardens.
A local points out an importanrt Buddhist temple, which features a giant gold Buddha – and a pond full of koi.
The Hachirei shrine is dedicated to the twelve signs or animals of Chinese Zodiac. Stone statues of each zodiac signs are placed around the god facing twelve different directions of the compass: you can pray to the animal of the year, or to your zodiac animal.
This is the last sub-shrine before I arrive back at the main Fushimi Inari Shrine, completing my loop over Mount Inari.
Although the hike is only about 5km in total, allow at least two hours for the loop around Mount Inari – and you could easily spend most of a day exploring the 30,000+ sub-shrines on the mountain.
Getting to Fushimi-Inari and Mount Inari
If you’re using public transport, the hike starts at either Keihan Fushimi-Inari Station or JR Inari Station, both a few stops south of central Kyoto by train. The temple also has a car park if you’re driving. From the train station, it’s an easy 300m walk to the Fushimi-Inari Shrine. Once at the shrine there are large maps in English and Japanese… or just follow the crowds! Or, aim to be arrive by 7am if you want to avoid the crowds – the earlier the better, as the shrine and trails are always open.
More information
- 4Corners7Seas – Fushimi Inari: Complete Guide
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