Torii gates across the Inari mountain.

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds.

Donated and inscribed by businesses and individuals thankful for their prosperity, the long tunnel of torii is one of the most iconic visions of Kyoto. The bigger the donation – the bigger the gate. We also bought a (tiny) gate at the entrance for our wealth and happiness.

The paths of gates goes all the way up to the top of the mountain. We didn’t make it all the way to the top (4 km), but we found that going up (further than just the 2 first paths means much less tourists and is very very recommended. It is indeed one of the most impressive sights we have experienced on our full journey.