Fushimi Inari Taisha

Head Shrine Of The Inari Shrines; Main Hall An Important Cultural Property · Kyoto, Kyoto

The head shrine of Inari, the Shinto god of rice, prosperity and business, at the foot of Mount Inari in southern Kyoto, and famous for the thousands of vermilion torii gates that form tunnels along the paths climbing the mountain. Each gate was donated by a person or company, whose name and the date are written in black on the back. The shrine dates back to 711, well before Kyoto became the capital, and its main hall was rebuilt in 1499. Stone foxes, the messengers of Inari, guard the paths, often holding a key to the rice granary in their mouths. The Senbon Torii, the densest double row of gates near the start, is where the crowds gather for photographs. The full circuit up the mountain and back takes two to three hours, passing smaller shrines, teahouses and a viewpoint over Kyoto at Yotsutsuji crossroads, and the crowds thin sharply after the first half hour. The shrine is free and never closes, so dawn or evening visits are easy. It is right beside Inari station, a few minutes by train from Kyoto station.

68 Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto, 612-0882, Japan

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: the grounds and the torii paths are open at all hours, every day, with no entry fee and no last entry. The amulet and prayer-plaque offices keep daytime hours, roughly morning to late afternoon; the mountain teahouses open in the day and close by late afternoon, earlier in winter, so after dark there is nowhere to buy water on the mountain. Traps: the upper paths are unlit in places at night, and at New Year (1 to 3 January) crowd control slows the approach. Confirm times before relying on them.

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