A Day In Kyoto - Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社)

Kyoto, 京都

was formerly the imperial city of Japan.

Decorated with historic shrines, beautiful gardens and markets,

Kyoto is currently one of the most beautiful cities 

in the land of the rising sun. 

I was in Osaka for work and was lucky enough to have enough time to cross over to the

beautiful neighboring prefecture.

From Osaka station, taking the JR line, you can reach Kyoto JR station in less than half an hour with the rapid train, costing around 540 Japanese yen. 

And if you have visited Japan before, you should know that their train stations are not just train stations. It is normally linked with a mall or at least having some shops and eateries for you to explore!

Hungry souls standing outside waiting for the restaurant to open.

My first meal in Kyoto is the Kani Ikura Don (Crab and Fish Roe Rice)

1500 Yen

After lunch, we walked up to the street level and right infront of the station, you will be able to find the Kyoto Tourist Information Centre where you will be able to purchase a Kyoto City Bus Day Pass for 500 Yen!

I would highly recommend buying the pass as a single bus trip without using the day pass costs around 

200 yen ( you do your maths~).

And very easily, you will be able to spot all the queues for the buses that goes to different sightseeing landmarks in Kyoto right next to the tourist information centre.

Our first stop would be the Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社).

For movie goers who had watched Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005) before, Fushimi Inari Taisha was one of the landmarks where the movie was being filmed!

Remember this?

 Taking bus 5 (read the route map before boarding as not all bus 5 goes to fushimi inari. The only bus 5 which goes there departs from queue C4 at the main bus station).

 My awesome set of colleagues who are willing to wake up at 8am to go visit Kyoto with me <3

Reading bus maps!

Navigation has never been our strong point.

When you alight the bus at the Fushimi Inari Taisha stop,

turn at the corner where the first minimart is and walk all the way straight up (seriously, just follow the crowd. I doubt anyone else there is going anywhere else.) and you will reach the shrine.

However, before you reach the shrine, there are plenty more things to do on the way!

A snack/souvenir store selling Japanese Senbei (Japanese rice crackers).

So pretty that I want to eat them all up!

Old school overground train tracks.

By the time we get there, we were all so distracted by all the stores and carts selling whatnots!

Look at the beautiful bright red Torii Gate!

 Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社)

Fushimi Inari Taisha is one of the most important and not to forget, the most famous shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of rice - Inari.

Don't forget to purify yourself before you enter the shrine by washing your hands and mouth using the water at the purification fountain outside the shrine!

As this is an Inari shrine, you will be able to see guardian foxes at the front of the shrine instead of dogs or lions. They are known to be messengers of Inari.

These wooden plates are called Ema and visitors will often write their wishes on it and hang it in the shrine in hope that their wishes will come true.

And remember to make an offering, ring the bell and pray to the god! 

The names of the people who had donated to build the shrine.

Omikuji

Senbon Torii

"Thousands of Torii Gates"

One of the must see in Fushimi Inari Taisha.

Senbon Torii means a thousand of torii gates and each torii gate is donated by believers.

This is the place where the scene where little chiyo is seen running off to donate the coins the chairman gave her after their first meeting in Memoirs of a geisha.

To complete the whole hike around the compound takes around 2-3 hours and around 45 minutes into the hike, you will reach the Yotsutsuji intersection whereby a beautiful scenic view of kyoto could be seen.

Overall, I would say Fushimi Inari did not disappoint and I was thoroughly wow-ed by the senbon torii gates!

Please Note: the bus to fushimi inari comes arrives every one hour at the central bus station and leaves fushimi inari stop every one hour as well. So don't miss the bus! Well, if you do, you can always go back and walk around the shrine and take more photos with the torii gates!