Fushimi Inari Shrine

My Rating: 8.9/10

Lots of people think that once you've seen one temple in Japan, you've seen em all. Now, that all depends on the person, and I won't open that can of worms here. However, there are some holy places in Japan that separate themselves and stand completely unique compared to the rest. Fushimi Inari shrine is one of those places.

Home to over 10,000 torii gates, Fushimi Inari Shrine weaves a trail for miles leading to the summit of a mountain (or hill? only 200 meters or so). The whole trail is loaded with the torii gates shown below.

Uhh, right or left? American traffic rules or Japanese traffic rules...?

The torii gates for the first part of the trail are particularly dense, as shown here.

Well, you get the idea. They just go on, and on, and on.

We came to an opening, then decided to turn back.

On the back of every torii gate was the individual, family, or company that purchased it. They start at a modest price of 400,000 Yen (roughly $5,000), and go up considerably from there.

I really liked the lights that lit the way through the torii gate path.

Just on the outskirts of Kyoto, Fushimi Inari was a great little place to visit. It offered a change of scenery, something unique, and most importantly, an escape from the crowds. To finish things off, I snapped a photo of some good luck, large-testicled tanukis.