Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稻荷大社
Add: Fushimi-ku, Kyoto 京都市伏見区
Tel: 075-641-7331
Price: Free
Website: http://inari.jp
Visited: Nov 2010
On our third day in Kyoto, we visited the spectacular Fushimi Inari Taisha, a site with thousands of torii shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. The trail from the main shrine, located at the bottom of the hill, to the inner shrine, located at the middle of the mountain, is about a two-hour round trip. Happy hiking!
At the bottom of the hill is the main shrine. According to my Japanese friends, this is what you do: at the offering hall, throw a coin into the offering box, bow deeply twice, clap your hands twice, bow deeply once more and make your prayers. If there is a gong or a bell, ring it (this is my favorite!) before praying in order to get the gods’ attention.
There are other fun stuff to do at the shrine. There’s the ema, wooden plates on which you can write your wishes and then leave at the shrine for the wishes to come true. There’s the omikuji, fortune telling paper slips that are randomly drawn and contain predictions ranging from daikichi (very good luck) to daikyo (very bad luck). Tie the pieces of paper to a fixture at the shrine, so good fortune will come true and bad fortune can be averted.
The most distinguishing feature if Fushimi Inari Taisha is of course the thousands of torii. You’ll also see fox statues here and there, as foxes were thought to be the messengers of Inari.
Fushimi Inari Taisha is a fun walk and is also very easy to get to from Kyoto Station. Just hop on JR Nara Line, and in ten minutes, you’ll be at Inari Station.
i remember when i go there there a small trditional shop that sells traditional japanese sweets. they were made from kuzu and serve chilled with black sugar and soybean powder. perfect for a hot sunny day !