This is one of my favourite places in Japan so far, and thus I would love to dedicate a post about it. Most people are not strangers to this shrine as it is a must-visit place in Kyoto. It's renowned for its rows of Torii gates covering a hiking trail. These gates are actually the donations from individuals or companies.
Tip #1 is to arrive early to avoid the crowd for good photos. We reached at 7.30 am, luckily all of us are morning person, else we might get into intense fight to decide what time to wake up.
Fushimi-Inari-Taisha
Transport - Take JR Nara line (local train, not rapid train) and alight at JR Inari station.
Opening Hours - Always open
Approximate Visit Time - 4 hours including the hike
Entrance Ticket - None
You must be wondering what's the relationship between the shrine and foxes? They can be seen everywhere in the temple. I looked up online and I found that foxes were believed to be the messengers of the god among the locals. You can read here if you are interested in the full stories.
Like all the other shrines, you can obtain random fortune or O-mikuji here but only Japanese version is available here. I didn't try because none of us could read Japanese.
Tip #2 is to take some nice random photos at the rest point. You can actually have some good views over the city from here.
Tip #3 is not too worry if you can't get good photos at the Torii Gates in the beginning of your hike, mainly due to the crowd. Because you can always find a deserted spot for photos later on as the hiking trail seems have no end. Even though the gates are not as dense as those in front, they still make good photos in my opinion!
We conquered the the top after the insane hike (flight of steps and steps)!!! Wasn't expecting the hike to be so tiring but we managed to do it!
Before I end the post, special mention about this little teahouse at the side entrance of Fushimi-Inari. Amazake or fermented rice drinks (do not contain alcohol) are served here. The owner auntie was really friendly and served us tea even though we only ordered a cup of cold amazake. I would say worth a try as the taste was decent and unique. If you come during winter, hot amazake would certainly warm you up.
Amazake, with ginger served on the wooden spoon. Tasted like ginger tea after stirring the ginger in the drink.
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