Fushimi Inari or Fox Shrine, Kyoto

The most amazing time we had was seeing the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, otherwise known as the Fox Shrine. The shrine is at the base of Mt. Inari. ‘Inari’ is the god of rice. The famous ‘Tori’ gates are orange-reddish in colour and there are at least a thousand of them, they lead up to the top of the mountain and are donated by companies and private individuals, which are supposed to bring good fortune in the business world. The fox is Inari’s messenger and protects the shrine from bad people that try to enter. The shrine was established in 711, but the main shrine was built in 1499.
Selina and I enjoyed the wonderful colours and writing on the gates, there are many areas to stop and take photos of bamboo overgrowth and stone sculptures. We decided to hike up the mountain and were surprised to find that the entire way was lined up with gates. After a few hours we reached the top, took a short break and began our descent again. It was a loop trail around the mountain. The hike up was on the West side and going down was on the North side. Therefore, going down it was colder, eerie and a small river ran next to the trail. Very beautiful, but it could also be a bit creepy at times.
While we have visited a lot of different Buddhist and Hinduism temples on our journey through Asia, we have not been to a Shino Shrine. Shintoism is a religion that started in Japan. It is very entangled with Buddhism in Japan. Buddhist temples are there for the worship of Buddha, Hinduism temples are there to worship the Gods, while shrines are places for Kamis. Kamis are spiritual creatures. Most of the time they come from the elements, nature, or such.
What a day! Well that’s all folks! Off to Tokyo via ‘Shinkansen’ (Bullet train!) See ya soon!Read more