AttractionsKyoto, Japan
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Kenji Watanabe
Japan Editor
May 31, 2026 3 min
Don't miss
- Dawn under the gates
- The quiet upper trails
Fushimi Inari is the head shrine of the fox-god of rice and prosperity, and its thousands of vermilion torii form tunnels that climb the wooded slopes of Mount Inari.
Go at dawn — by mid-morning it is a river of people. Walk past the first dense gates and the crowds thin; an hour up, you have the foxes and the forest almost to yourself.
On the map
Kyoto, Japan
About the writer
Kenji covers Japan slowly and on foot — temples at dawn, mountain inns, and the quiet rituals of the table.
