Next up on our Kyoto sight seeing hitlist is Fushimi Inari Taisha.
This incredible shrine is like nothing we’ve ever seen before and very different from the usual Japanese shrines.
Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is 233 metres above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span four kilometers and takes approximately 2 hours to walk up.
It is a dream like corridor of seemingly endless orange Tori gates that wind their way up the mountain.
In some places the gates are so close together that the light barely penetrates through.
Since early Japan, Inari was seen as the patron of business, and merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. Each of the torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha is donated by a Japanese business.
At the start of the hike the temple is jammed full of eager visitors but the higher and higher you climb, the sparser the crowds become!
I’ll post a few more snaps of this jazzy orange delight, so watch this space!!