The second full day of our stay in Kyoto, and our legs are pretty knackered from several hours of walking on the previous day. But there is no rest for the wicked tourist and we are up at 0600 (0400 Thai time, our bodies remind us) in order to visit the Fushimi Inari shrine. The guides recommend an early visit to best enjoy the site, and the fact that this is a Sunday morning of a Japanese long weekend supports the idea for an early start.
But tired legs and the appeal of the excellent breakfast buffet do not speed our progress, and it is later than it should have been before we leap on the train. We had been caught the previous day by catching an express train which sped past our intended station, requiring a long return trip once we had finally managed to escape; so I ensured this would not be repeated by asking a fellow Japanese passenger if this train stopped at Inari. Indeed it did, he confirmed; and we settled down for the short journey. After quite a long journey and no Inari station, the ticket checker arrived and advised we had to get off at the next station and catch a slow train back. I was as surprised and disappointed by this news as my fellow passenger, and several other Japanese, who had also thought we were on the correct train. So we all got off at the next step and retraced our steps; and finally arrived at this:
The big orange thingie is called a torii gate, this particularly large example dating back to 1589. Beyond that are the shrine’s main buildings; but walk past that and you arrive at:
From this point you have a choice of trails leading up the side of a mountain. It doesn’t matter which you take because each ends up at the same place. Looking up the trail, you are faced with a sea of orange:
But turn around and look down the trail and you will find that each torii is inscribed with the name of the donor; typically a business. This is because the shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice and a patron of business.
Along the way we would come across little shrines featuring mini-torii and statues of foxes, Inari’s messengers:
The climb through the parallel trails was tough work on my already tired legs, and the growing heat and crowds didn’t help. When we finally emerged at a point where the path split to make a circular trail across the face of the mountain, I had had enough. So armed with an ice cream and a comfy rock, I advised she who must be obeyed that I could go no further. She was having none of it and so on we went; and it was not as bad as I had expected. In total we spent four hours walking around the trails of the shrine and it was a pretty magical place to be; in spite of the thousands of other people who had the same idea. Could have been worse, over the new year period they have up to one million people a day paying their respects here.
Some more shots:
Comments 🔗
2013-10-11| Jock saysLooks like a great sight …. worth hauling your ass up the hill for I think you will agree !!
2013-10-14| daddyDon saysSorry to question the Master, but I don’t get the picture, ninth after the fox, between the candle flame and the steps? Is the foreground a close up of the flame?