The Kyoto shrine I almost missed (again)

My first trip to Japan’s cultural capital was in the autumn of 2007. After a friend encouraged me to do more with my time in Japan, I packed my bags, took a week of absence from university exchange classes and headed off to Kyoto on a cheap night bus for my first major trip of my one-year stay.

My guide book then was a book about viewing cherry blossoms and autumn foliage in Kyoto, and it included several classic walking trails, including one to Kinkakuji (金閣寺) and Ryoanji (龍安寺), another to Kiyomizudera (清水寺), and others to less well-known destinations such as Kurama (鞍馬). I thoroughly enjoyed that trip, and on my second visit there in February 2008, I revisited many of the same places.

Bathe me in luscious red and orange

So when I visited Kyoto again in February 2012 – this time with my family and my girlfriend – I’d planned to stick to my tried and tested itineraries. But my independent-minded sister insisted on going to the Fushimi-Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社). Who was she (someone who’d only been to Japan once) to tell me (with many trips within Japan under my belt) where to go?

So before the day when we were to split up, I decided to do some research. As I found,  the Fushimi-Inari Taisha was built in 911AD, and it worships Inari-san, the rice gods. The main shrine itself, typically beautiful like other major shrines, is nothing to boast about. It is the mountain trails lined with seemingly-endless red torii gates at the back of the main shrine which truly impresses.

In a nutshell: If you are amazed by the “floating” torii of Miyajima in Hiroshima prefecture, you are likely to fall in love with Fushimi-Inari Taisha.

Needless to say, I backpedalled on my insistence on going elsewhere and the whole gang went to the shrine the following day.

More info about the shrine in English here and here, and the official Japanese website is here.

(All photos taken on Fujifilm Provia 400X, using the Nikon F6 and AIS 35mm f1.4 lens.)

DRESSED FOR THE OCCASION: The entrance to the shrine is right in front of Fushimi Inari Taisha station on the JR Nara line.

IN SESSION: Devotees praying at the main shrine. There were many others seated inside, presumably for a Shinto ritual.

RED DREAMS: In keeping with the torii gate motif, the wish tablets are also made in the same design. On hindsight, maybe I should have bought one back as a souvenir.

FOXY HOPES: Further up the mountain trail, there are also ones made like this. The fox is believed to be a guardian or messenger for the rice gods. Some of the fox “faces” are quite hilarious.

WHEEL ME UP: I thought it was quite heartening that those in wheelchairs can experience the magic of going through the red torii gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha. The early part of the mountain trail is on relatively flat ground.

TOMBS ENSHRINED: Just about 40min or so up the mountain trail, we hit a rest area with some tombs, probably on very expensive rented space. The torii gate and fox motifs, unsurprisingly, are also seen on many of the tombs.

BREEZY WALK DOWN: As we didn’t have enough time, Joanne and I turned back towards the main shrine entrance. There was a different route down, where the gates were more sparse. But it was a refreshing walk because there were much less people here.

CHOOSE YOUR GOD: There were several smaller shrines on the way down, and a number of them have their share of devotees.

SAME GATES, LESS RED: To be honest, I couldn’t tell if these were tombs or small gods. Perhaps it’s mix of both. A communion of the dead and the holy.

MY MUM AND I: It was a family trip, and this was the picture I was most happy with at the end of the day. J took this wonderful shot.

Incidentally, I spotted the March 2012 issue of Nikkei’s lifestyle magazine Otona no Off (おとなのOFF) in a bookstore, and it featured the shrine on its cover, as the theme for that issue was Shinto religion and shrines. The beautiful cover aside, I bought a copy to learn more about the fascinating topic.

After this visit, the shrine is now in my must-go list for my future visits to Kyoto. I think it would be quite a sight especially when it is snowing.