The visit to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest done, we doubled back to Kyoto and continued onto Inari Station for a visit to the Torii Gates at Fushimi Inari – another very iconic site that is a must-visit for visitors to Kyoto. The thousand or so torii gates lining along trails are are located at the Fushimi Inari Shrine Our previous visit years ago did see some sparse crowds, so we had to walk for a few minutes further-in before we got those pictures posted 12 years go. Our visit today however saw larger crowds, including busloads of junior high students all visiting the same place. The crowds gradually thin out the further in you walk along the path, and we walked a good 10 minutes into the path before we could get some pictures with too many people in the frame.
I saw a YouTube couple did the entire walk up to the top of the Mt. Inari, and it was a 90 minute walk for them – Japan Guide says the trek to the summit is 2-3 hours – and both were utterly exhausted by the time they were at the top! We couldn’t afford that length of time, even if we had the energy to finish the route (we didn’t). We walked in for 15 minutes at which point we agreed we’d seen and experienced enough. The density of gates also eases the further up you go (as do the number of visitors present).
There is also a small street food area at the entrance into the shrine selling a variety of hot snacks. You’re not allowed to consume food when you’re on the trail though, so finish up your snacks before starting.
Another bucket list place re-visited: we made our way back to Fushimi Inari Station to make our way to the Gion district, but first stopping also for the famous raindrop cake.
