Fushimi Inari Taisha
伏見稲荷大社34°58′ N 135°46′ EShrineEnshrined 711
Fushimi Inari suits an early-morning ride from Kyoto Station to the head shrine of Japan's Inari shrines, and its trade-off is dense crowds on the lower torii paths later in the day.
Photo Paul Vlaar · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Visiting with care · Open to visitors
The whole of Inariyama counts as the shrine's precinct, about 870,000 square metres.
- The shrine's parking is for worshippers only, and the shrine asks visitors to come by public transport.
- Fushimi Inari is a working shrine with daily worship. Let people praying at the halls and the small shrines on the mountain go first, and keep your voice down near them.
- The torii are offerings from worshippers. Keep off them and leave the small stone shrines and fox statues alone.
The name
Inari
稲荷The shrine says the name may come from "ine ga narimashita", meaning the rice has grown.
japanese
The shrine cites the surviving fragments of the Yamashiro Fudoki for this reading and says other explanations exist.
Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of about 30,000 Inari shrines across Japan, and its deity was enshrined here in 711. Around 10,000 torii line the paths up Inariyama, the southernmost of Kyoto's Higashiyama hills. People offered them in thanks for prayers answered, a custom that had spread by the start of the Edo period.
The shrine sits next to JR Inari station, two stops and five minutes from Kyoto Station, and five minutes' walk from Fushimi-Inari station on the Keihan line. Kyoto Cycling Tour Project rents bikes from a Fushimi terminal near the shrine, which the company puts about 15 minutes by bike from Kyoto Station. Cycle Kyoto's early e-bike tour rides here first, before the crowds.
Worth knowing
- Arrive early if you want the torii paths quiet.
- The shrine's own festivals fill the calendar in autumn, including the Hitaki-sai on 8 November.
Quick answers about Fushimi Inari Taishaよくある質問
How do I get to Fushimi Inari Taisha from Kyoto Station?
Take the JR Nara line two stops to Inari, about five minutes. The shrine stands next to the station.
How many torii gates are at Fushimi Inari Taisha?
The shrine says around 10,000 torii of all sizes line the mountain paths to Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Can you visit Fushimi Inari Taisha?
Open to visitors. The shrine's parking is for worshippers only, and the shrine asks visitors to come by public transport.
How should you behave at Fushimi Inari Taisha?
At Fushimi Inari Taisha: Fushimi Inari is a working shrine with daily worship. Let people praying at the halls and the small shrines on the mountain go first, and keep your voice down near them. The torii are offerings from worshippers. Keep off them and leave the small stone shrines and fox statues alone.
Within 12 km
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