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Trekking Through 10,000 Torii at Fushimi Inari Shrine Kyoto

One of our most memorable hikes was through the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan last summer. This was our last stop after a busy day with the temples and strolling the city’s history district. This shrine is well-known for its trail and tunnels of 10,000 red/orange torii or traditional Japanese gates that led to sacred Mount Inari. See why this hike was unforgettable.

Fushimi Inari Shrine entrance kimono

History of the Shrine

They founded this Shinto shrine in 711 AD and dedicated it to Inari, the Shinto god of sake (rice wine), rice, and prosperity.

There are about 40,000 shrines dedicated to Inari in Japan, and this one was the headquarters, named after its location in ‘Fushimi. Worshippers, pilgrims, and businessmen visit this shrine seeking luck and blessings for their business ventures because it signifies success and prosperity

Fushimi Inari Shrine entrance

The Gates and Courtyard

The two-storied Romon Gate dominates the shrine’s entrance with its stunning and bright architecture. A famous Japanese leader donated this structure in 1589.

Fushimi Inari Shrine two story gate

The courtyard behind the gate was expansive with many structures that included gift shops, offices and worship halls. But, the shrine’s main hall, the Honden (built in 1499), dominated the area.

Fushimi Inari Shrine main hall

The cleansing ritual is common at shrine and temple entrances and one my kids always enjoy doing. We liked that this one actually had instructions with colorful pictures.

Fushimi Inari water ritual

Foxes in the Shrine

Foxes were everywhere here, believed to be Inari’s messengers. We saw them usually in pairs with ceremonial red bibs. One of the statues had a jewel that represented the gods’ spirit, while the other held keys to the rice storehouse.

The kids tried to play how many foxes can you spot here but lost count along the way. I won’t deny that somewhere along the trail the kids and my husband were singing that wildly popular “What does the fox say…” song.  (I’m sorry if you can’t get it out of your head now).

Sometimes, you’ve got to make some of these hikes more entertaining.

Fushimi Inari Shrine foxes

We arrived here late in the day (around 3 PM), so most of the restaurants had already closed. But, some of the restaurants along the trail had local dishes like Inari sushi (fried tofu around sweetened rice) and Kitsune Udon (Fox Udon).

No fox was harmed with that dish. It’s actually a noodle soup with aburaage (fried tofu) toppings, which is supposed to be the foxes’ favorite treat.

The ema votive tablets, wooden plaques that worshippers write their wishes and prayers on, were also shaped like foxes.

Fushimi Inari Shrine fox ema votives

The Torii Gates

The torii gate trails were towards the back of the shrine’s complex. The thousands of torii that seem to overlap each other really are quite a sight to behold and seem to endlessly go on.

They cover the trails and forest that lead to the 999 feet (233 meters), sacred Mount Inari. It’s no surprise that it’s such an important and iconic attraction in Kyoto.

Fushimi Inari Shrine torii foxes

History of the Torii Gates

How did these thousands of torii gates end up here? Various local and national businesses, organizations and individuals, who were grateful for their luck and prosperity and hoping for more good fortune, donated them. The donor’s name and donation date in black lettering is inscribed in each gate.

Fushimi Inari Shrine torii

The donors actually have to pay to put a torii up. The torii gate cost varies depending on size and location. It starts at 200,000 yen ($1,681 US) for a small gate and over a million yen ($8,405 US) for the large gate.

Some of them in damper areas have to be replace every 5 years due to deterioration. I guess in a way it’s also a form of advertising for the businesses (if you can read Japanese).

Fushimi Inari Shrine torii

We saw the first set of torii gates – the parallel rows called Senbon Torii (thousands of torii gates). We found them so closely placed together with lanterns hung above them. These bright tunnels were so remarkable to walk through.

Fushimi Inari Senbon Torii

It looked like the torii at the start of the trail were much bigger than the ones higher up the trail. Some of them were massive.

Fushimi Inari Shrine with kids

Fushimi Inari Shrine Hike

We had no intentions of hiking to the top of the mountain in the heat and humidity. Despite our protests, my husband had a bright idea that hiking and seeing what’s at the top will be a worthwhile adventure.

He promised the kids cold drinks and treats and enticed me with the possibility of what I’d be missing out if I didn’t do this climb. So, off we went.

The mountaintop hike takes about 2-3 hours round trip. We did it in a little over two hours simply because we started running down once it started getting dark. It seemed that the higher we went up, we saw less people on the trail.

Fushimi Inari shrine trail

The Smaller Torii

After awhile, I had a case of déjà vu. The trails, paths and all those torii started to look the same. If I had not seen the numbered stations along the way, I thought we were going in circles.

We found small shrines along the way with foxes, food and wine offerings and many miniature torii gates. This was for people and businesses that have a limited budget.

These smaller torii ranged from 2,000 yen ($17 US )to 10,000 yen ($84 US). We found them scattered around shrines and others grouped and stacked together.

Fushimi Inari Shrine mini torii

The Halfway Point

Halfway through the mountaintop trail is the Yotsu-tsuji (four-way) intersection. There was a clearing with lovely views of Kyoto here as well as an eatery with refreshing drinks.

This was the stopping point for many visitors. We really should have gone back down after this but we kept going and followed the circular trail to Mount Inari’s summit. There was a trail filled with more brush and trees and less torii gates.

Fushimi Inari Shrine Kyoto view

We were expecting some sort of large monument or big sign saying we were at the top of the mountain. We found the only sign below by accident. .

Fushimi Inari Shrine top of mountain

Summit Shrine

This was the shrine at the summit with offerings and more foxes. As tourists, it was a bit disappointing. I’m sure the pilgrims would think otherwise.

Pilgrims and serious devotees pray at each shrine along the way as they trek to the top of Mount Inari. They also toss coins, buy candles or miniature torii gates on the shrines. Tea breaks may be scheduled along the hike.

Fushimi Inari Shrine mountaintop

At times, we were the only ones in some areas and felt the solitude this special place offers for pilgrims. The forest was beautiful with patches of clearings including this pond. I’m sure this is more colorful during Autumn and Spring.

Fushimi Inari Shrine pond

We came back down the trail near dusk. It almost felt magical with the lanterns lighting the way for us through the torii tunnels.

Fushimi Inari shrine torii

While Kyoto has numerous shrines and temples, this shrine shouldn’t be missed for its uniqueness, importance, easy accessibility and it was free. Despite the lack of fanfare at the summit, the hike was worth it to truly experience what this shrine embodied.

It was a great and interesting place to explore. It wasn’t an easy hike with kids especially during the summer but we will never forget our trek through tunnels of thousands of torii.

Fushimi Inari Shrine torii

Tips for Visiting Fushimi Inari Shrine

  • The shrine is always open and is Free.
  • It is located just outside JR Inari Station, the second station from Kyoto Station (main station) along the JR Nara Line and takes 5 minutes one way. It is also a short walk from Fushimi Inari Station along the Keihan Main Line.
  • There are restaurants, snack shops and restrooms (called WC) along the trails.
  • April and October are festival times at the shrine and is a popular time to visit but also crowded.
  • Come early or late to minimize running with the crowd.
  • We saw many vending machines along the way which was a relief. Buy from the lower level ones. Prices increase as we ascended to the top.
  • How much time to spend at the shrine? Allocate at least two hours at Fushimi Inari Shrine and add another 2-3 hours if you’re going to hike to the summit.

*Have you visited the Fushimi Inari Shrine?

Fushimi Inari Shrine Kyoto

42 thoughts on “Trekking Through 10,000 Torii at Fushimi Inari Shrine Kyoto”

  1. Those torii are beautiful! I would love to do this hike. The fox connection is interesting; the tablets are super cute. I can imagine the top was a bit disappointing, but at least you did it and saw what was up there! Otherwise you probably would have always wondered. That always happens to me!

      1. I would love to visit this place which I am going to visit Japan in May 2018. I have 2 kids almost 2 and almost 4 in May. I think it’s impositive to use the stroller (small one).. I want to know do we need to hike far to reach to the torri? We just want to see them and not planning to hike far.. how far do we need to walk to reach the 2 pallellet terriers? Thanks

        1. We’ve done this today. You can reach the torii quite quickly and there is a route to go up one side and back down next to it. I wouldn’t recommend taking a 2 & 4 year old much further and a stroller forget it. There are an awful lot of steps. Enjoy though it’s worth it

  2. Never been in Japan, though it is high on my list!! I’ve seen photos of this temple and especially the “doors”, so it’s nice to know the back story!
    P.S. I love your blog’s title, as I like that quote from St. Augustine. It amazes me that there are people who indeed read only a page (I’m not one of them thankfully).

  3. Those torii gates are breathtaking! LOL that no fox was harmed. That soooo made me laugh. Sushi samplers along the way? You could get me to hike a couple hours for food anytime! What a great view you had up at the top. $10,000 yen for just one of those smaller torii? Wow! I would love to see everything lit up at night with the lanterns. Thank you for another virtual escape with you and your family! I hope all of you are doing great and that you have a wonderful weekend, Mary! :)

    1. Glad to bring a little laughter your way, Mike. Sushi and tea along the way I’m sure helps make the trek a whole lot easier. It really was magical at night. Have a great week!

  4. This is great inspiration, I am leveraging all your Japan posts to plan our trip in the future! Thanks for sharing your adventures and beautiful pictures!

  5. The orange color looks so fascinating. Now I know what I missed during my trip to Japan – I love the long trail of the torii lit up during dusk. However, I am sorry the hike did not end up as expected but still it is good to know that it still offered solitude in parts. Lovely post as usual, Mary!

  6. We loved this shrine too. It was on the top of my list of places to visit. I rate it as the best budget travel experience in Kyoto. We were lucky to be included in a ceremony that was taking place at the summit temple, but I agree that if it were not for that it would have been a bit of an anti-climax. The candles lighting the way are gorgeous, we were down before they came on. Your photos as usual are beautiful.

  7. All the time I’ve spent in Japan, and I have never done this. I’m sure I’ll be back, and it’s the first thing to do on my list. Mary, your photos are gorgeous and awe-inspiring. I love them. Thanks for linking up with #wkendtravelinspiration!

  8. What a beautiful hike! Thanks for sharing the story. I’ve never been to Japan but am fascinated by the culture, the beauty and the people. And the food – can’t forget that! One more “must see” added to our list!

  9. Fushimi Inari was one of my favorite sites in Kyoto. We went before “What does the fox say” was released, so my kids were saved the embarassment of having mom sing it off key as we went up the steps. I’m glad that you were able to make it to the top. That had been my goal but we arrived too late in the day and had to turn back around (before the 4-way intersection) because it was getting dark.

  10. I’m always up for a hike and now I know where to go to if I am ever in Kyoto.
    Such a clever idea to have prices at the vending machines increase the higher up you go, they seem to have mastered the art of preying on desperate hikers.

  11. I unfortunately could not visit this one during my Japan trip. This post is just beautiful, the Japanese Temples really stole my heart, all so very clean and colorful. Thanks for sharing this Mary, those Torii look amazing indeed :)

  12. Definitely one of my favorite Kyoto shrines. Thanks for the memories! (PS…For some weird reason your post ended in moderation on last week’s link-up. I have no idea why!)

  13. “It’s pretty amazing how much they kept in keeping with their structure, that you get such a clear view of their history, at least in terms of architecture. Wow, that’s a lot of stairs. Do you think it would be wise to leave off kids aged 5 below?”

  14. We haven’t been to Japan yet, but it’s one of our top 10 wanna-go destinations. This is just the type of photo opportunity we enjoy. I intend to learn more about Shintoism before I go because I think it would really enhance the trip.

    Thought you’d like to know that when you mentioned the smaller torii gates you forgot to put in the converted ($) prices.

    I’m loving your photos too – pinned them to a few Pinterest boards. :)

  15. These pictures are stunning, Mary. I loved the idea of walking back through them at dusk. Japan is one of those places that everyone in my family wants to see. I hope we get there someday!

  16. Loving your report! Only recently wrote about fushimi inari shrine myself. Haven’t seen fushimi inari at night yet tho. Do they really lit up the lanterns? must be quite a magical experience!Bet the kids loved it!

  17. Hi guys, great write-up! I used to live next to Fushimi Inari, and I just want to give you (and your readers) a tip for next time – you actually missed the best viewpoint! From the Yotsusuji intersection, if you go left up the short, steep steps to the little sub-shrine at the top, you can go round behind the shrine and find the mountain’s best lookout spot.

    Also if you’re ever lucky enough to be in Kyoto on a snow day, head to Fushimi Inari – the red gates & white snow look fantastic together!

  18. Beautiful write up and photos’! We did this today before leaving Japan on a business trip. Went to just see the temple and didn’t expect to climb a mountain, but we too just had to see what was at the top! It was an awesome and unforgettable experience!

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