First things first, I would like to say a big warm welcome to the Japan series! In September I spent some time exploring the amazingness that is Japan and I am so excited to start sharing all of my stories, pictures and adventures with you. There are a whole bunch of Japanese travel related posts and pieces in the works, so stay tuned, this is gonna be fun!
After a long flight into Tokyo and an amazingly scenic shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Kyoto I was slathered in sunscreen and ready to go exploring.
The Lower East Nine hostel was a great base from which to explore, as it was a few steps from a metro station and a 10 minute walk from Kyoto Station. Not only was this particular hostel in a great location, it was also just downright great. The beds were comfy, the showers hot, the staff also incredibly hot, the WiFi fast and the cafe downstairs was just plain pretty. Only downside was that the stairs leading to the dorms on the first floor (or second floor for those of you who aren’t familiar with buildings labelling the ground floor the 1st floor) are about as steep as the ascent to the summit of Everest – it makes life a little difficult for those of us who are about as coordinated as baby giraffes taking their first steps.
During my time in Japan I hung out with this awesome chicky named Kaisha! She was just as excited for some Kyoto exploring as I was.
Getting to Fushimi Inari ended up being much easier than I had thought it would be. From Kyoto Station we took a JR Train about four stops towards Inari and boom! We were there. So bloody easy! This was just the beginning of my love affair with the Japanese Railway system, but that is another story for another day – once again, stay tuned!
Once we arrived at Inari Station, getting to the temple was incredibly simple. Believe me when I say that you won’t need any maps or GPS. Just walk outside of the station and you will immediately see the first of many orange gates, and then you simply have to follow them.
The first temples at the site are undeniably gorgeous, but can be overlooked by many visitors, as the main attraction of Fushimi Inari is the thousands of gates packed together to create incredibly beautiful tunnels. Now, as beautiful as those tunnels are, make sure to take your time at the first temples, they really are worth more than just a few moments of your time.
There are many bells on these temples – it is customary to throw a coin into the coffer, ring the bell and say a prayer.
Before too long you will arrive at the thousands of dark orange gates I mentioned above, and believe me, they are worth the trip!
If you don’t think a bunch of orange gates sound all that special, then keep on scrolling and you might start to come around…
Over 5000 individual torii gates were used to construct this stunning pathway in the 8th century. This temple was built as a dedication to the God of rice and sake (my kinda God right there) but over time such deities have fallen out of relevance.
Now the temple is one of the countries most well-known and most beautiful temples. Thousands upon thousands of foreigners and native Japanese people flock to this shrine each and every year to marvel at an undeniably unique shrine.
For those planning on visiting Fushimi Inari, my best advice would be that if you want to see it in the daylight, try to get there as early as possible in the morning – we arrived at about 11am and the place was completely packed. Getting photographs of the tunnels without any other people in them required a heck of a lot of patience!
If an early morning rise just isn’t possible (we have all been there) but you aren’t keen on competing with the crowds either, then luckily, there is another option.
Visit Fushimi Inari at night!
After the sun has gone to bed, all the lanterns light up and the temple becomes an entirely new adventure. The best part? Only a teeny tiny fraction of travellers seem to know about this and as a result, when I visited, the place was almost empty.
Although you won’t have to fight off other travellers, be prepared to fight off quite a few hungry mosquitoes. Make sure you bring insect repellent!
My favourite part of visiting under the cover of night was how everything looked entirely different. Earlier that day I had not even really noticed this part of the temple, but when it was all lit up by lanterns and the moon it transformed into something that had me doing a double take.
Fushimi Inari really is a special place.
T H E L O W D O W N
Getting to Kyoto: Though Kansai airport is the closest airport to Kyoto, it is often cheaper to fly into Shin-Osaka airport and catch a short 30 minute train to Kyoto
Getting to Fushimi Inari-Taisha: From Kyoto Station, catch the JR Nara line towards Nara or Joyo and get off at Inari Station – this trip is included with a JR Rail Pass
Fushimi Inari-Taisha: Entrance is a whopping ¥0
Lower East Nine Hostel: A bed in a 4-bunk dorm will set you back ¥3800 ($46) per night, click here to book
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 lens
Threads: White shirt by H&M, maxi skirt and maxi dress both by Tigerlily Swimwear
Remember: Either get up early or be prepared to bring insect repellent
Don’t forget to add me on Snapchat and Instagram – @wwellend – for more foolishness and travel adventures!
Finally, if you enjoyed reading this post, please share it via Facebook or Twitter! <3
Fushimi Inari-Taisha is absolutely stunning; I visited in mid-August, and getting there early in the morning was definitely a good decision as we dodged the worst of the crowds. Equally, I think a lot of people just see the first bit and don’t follow the entire loop of torii gates, so the further round you go the easier it becomes to take pictures!
Great tip! Thanks for reading 🙂
Great post… While reading your story it seems that I am also exploring the places you’ve been. Great photos too.
Wow, thank you so much, I love comments like this!
The temple looks gorgeous! Would be a great place for a shooting, specialy during night time. Is it open all night long?
I believe so, but I think the lanterns and lamps are only on until around 10pm or so. Definitely a gorgeous place!
I’m really excited for this series on Japan! I’ve heard so many great things about Japan and seen so many amazing pictures taken there. Looking forward to hearing your take on it! 🙂
It truly is an amazing country! I already want to go back!
I love Fushimi Inari Shrine. But visiting at night is a bit scary… isn’t? I visit it in the morning and it’s a bit mystical in a cloudy day.
Not scary at all – if anything, I would describe it as serene 🙂
I stayed two days in Kyoto but never actually got round to visiting the Fushimi Inari shrine. I defninitely need to make the effort to if I ever go back. It looks very spooky at night!
It could be a good incentive to go back!
Beautiful temple; great capture. –Curt
Thank you very much Curt 🙂
I liked reading this post. I’ve never heard of this temple but it looks beautiful. Looking forward to more of your Japanese posts. We’ll be going to Tokyo in March.
Awesome! How long will you be in Tokyo for?
Wow! Did you take those Torii’s pictures without people? That’s amazing! I always tried to take like those beautiful Torii’s pictures when I was there but I have never made it…
Yes I did take those pictures – took a lot of patience but I got there!
What a beautiful place.
Lovely!
Nice! Did you walk all the way up? When we visited we tried to go all the way but we got too tired and had to turn back haha!
No not all the way! Much like you, it was boiling hot and I couldn’t summon the strength haha
I have been there, but we managed to get there when sun was setting, so it was amazing also!
I bet it was. Such a stunning place 24/7 <3
Japan has been always on our travel bucket list 🙂 Happy travels!
Any plans to go there soon?
Congratulations on the shots with no people! I was just there in October, and it was packed. Did get better further up, but even being there later in the afternoon didn’t help. Didn’t try it at night, I don’t see well in the dark, but those are lovely shots.
Thank you so much – it is definitely difficult getting people-less shots!
Hi! Loved this post. I love Japan and hopefully someday I’ll land there too. Looking forward to more related posts. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading, I am glad you enjoyed! I look forward to sharing many more Japan adventures 🙂
Looking forward to it! 🙂
Amazing article. Japan is on my never ending travel destination list and I want to go there even more now. Enjoy the rest of your travels 🙂
Any plans to visit soon? It truly is an amazing country!
Not yet, have other plans, but soonish 🙂
Fushimi Inari was one of our favorite places when we visited last year (exactly a year ago this week!). We were too busy (we vacation HARD) and wound up getting there after dark. I missed the daytime views, and we were too tired to spend much time there, but it was amazing at night! We’ll have to go back in the daytime at some point 🙂 I wrote a short post about our visit: https://bigtinyworld.com/2016/09/01/a-taste-of-japan-nighttime-shrines/
Glad you got to see it both during the day and at night. Love the pics!
I will definitely be checking out your post! As for not getting there in the daylight – just all the more incentive to return to Kyoto one day 🙂
Great post and lovely pics!
Thank you so much! Thanks for reading 🙂
Absolutely breathtaking. I second the pleasure of the day/night views.
Thank you so much! I love hearing that people like my pictures 🙂
I went there with others that had been there before, so it was stunning, but they told me what to expect. You are right about it being easy to find–get off the train and there it is. It was interesting to see those dressed in traditional clothing mixed with the corporate representatives there to dedicate a new gate.
That’s cool. Was in Japan in September as well, but did not make it to Kyoto this time, only Tokyo and Naha. Never been to Fushimi Inari, but looks cool, I love Japanese temples and shrines. It just went on my list. Great post 🙂
How was Naha? I never made it there!
Naha was nice. A bit touristy thou, but I have always had a great time there 🙂
Wow! I loved how that picture of the gates turned out, both in the night and the day. You are so lucky to get to be there. I am sure you are well aware of that. haha. How much longer do you plan on staying in Japan?
I was only in Japan for a week (way too short) but will be returning ASAP!
What a lovely place! I am going to be a faithful reader of all your Japan posts, as it is a country in which I have not spent much time.
Good to hear! Have you visited at all before?
Really stunning pictures! Despite having extended family over there, I still haven’t been, and seeing these just makes me want to go even more.
You should definitely make a trip there, it is such an amazing place!
Great pics!!
Great. Just great. How’d you manage to capture without traveler’s around though?
Lots of patience! Had to wait a long time to get gaps in the crowd!
Beautiful photos… I’ve been to Japan many times and this post brought back many good memories! Thank you!
What are your favourite places in Japan?
Thanks for reading!
I love your pictures of the shrine! Fushimi Inari is one of my favorite shrines in Japan. If you ever return to Kyoto I recommend exploring some of the less traveled paths. The last time I was there I found a path that led me up the backside of the mountain. I found a beautiful grove of bamboo, a wood carver, a waterfall and met a lot of interesting people.
I will definitely keep that in mind for my next visit!
Such an amazing place 🙂
Hi Ellen, Loved reading your post. Fushimi Inari was definitely one of our favourite places to visit when we were in Kyoto at the end of October. Like you we had to be patient to take a ‘people-less’ photo or two. Cheers, Mark
I know, I’m soooooo behind on reading your blog, my apologies! The reason I’m so behind is that at the end of the year I was caught up with moving – to Japan! So I definitely can’t just skip over your Japan posts. I can’t wait to see what other mischief you got yourself in!