Fushimi Inari Taisha, commonly known as Fushimi Inari Shrine, is one of Kyoto’s most popular destinations. It gained fame by have thousands of bright orange torii gates which line the pathways that scale the mountain side.
Fushimi Inari Shrine (Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important shrine in the Shinto Faith, and was originally founded some years before the capital of Japan became Kyoto in 794. The Shrine is dedicated to the Shinto God of Rice, Inari. Fushimi Inari Taisha has been built on Mount Inari, and the path of Torii gates snakes up 233 metres to the summit.
At Fushimi Inari Taisha, many fox statues can be found, as foxes are believed to be a messenger to Inari. This leads to many locals making offerings of rice and sake to the statues.
You will start off at the Fushimi Inari Shrine’s main hall, after passing through a giant torii gate. Visitors are encouraged to make a small offering to the deity at the main hall before climbing the mountain.
After you have gone through the main grounds, you will then join the mountain side trail. Starting off with two rows of condensed torii gates, called Senbon Torii (Thousands of torii gates) – where many photographers flock to from around the world to photograph. It is extremely hard to get a picture of the small torii gates during the daytime as several thousand people pass through on a daily basis. But if you are patient, you too can capture the perfect shot. Please keep in mind that this is a place of worship for people, so please be respectful to other visitors when trying to get your photos.
The further you climb the mountain, the less people you will see, making photography of the torii gates a breeze.
That said, the further you climb the mountain, the more spread out and larger the torii gates become. The famous Instagram photos mostly all come from the area closest to the base of the hill. The larger and more spread out Torii gates don’t create the same effect as the lower ones. Nevertheless, if you are just there for the experience, then we suggest you take the summit trail. The path to the summit of Mt.Inari will take approximately two and a half hours for the average person return from Inari Station, to the summit, and back.
There is a rest area about half way up the mountainside to grab drinks, snacks and break from the walking. You can also find vending machines which stock the required refreshments one would need to reach the summit.
All torii along the Fushimi Inari Taisha trail have all been donated by individuals and companies. You can find the name of who donated the torii gate, and the date it was donated on the back side. For small gates, the donation cost starts at around 400,000JPY, with the larger torii gates further up Mt.Inari could cost up to, or over 1,000,000JPY.
Hours and Admission
- Hours: 24/7
- Free
- Average Time Spent: 1-2 Hours
- Official Website
Accessing Fushimi Inari Shrine
Fushimi Inari Shrine is located just outside of JR Inari Station, a short 5-minute train trip costing 150JPY one way. From there, all you have to do is cross the road and you will be at Fushimi Inari Shrine.
From Osaka, you can catch the Keihan Main line at Kyobashi Station to Fushimi Inari Station, taking about 45 minutes on the train, costing 410JPY. Fushimi Inari Station is a slightly further walk from Inari Station, but you can still make the walk to Fushimi Inari shrine in about 2 minutes.
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