Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine

We caught a local train to Inari to see the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine which was just across the road from the station. This Shinto shrine is unique in having thousands of torii or gateways which are usually made of wood and painted black and orange (or vermillion). There are literally thousands of torii at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, most of which are over the paths up to a shrine at the top of Mount Inari. Each is donated by a Japanese business or individual at great expense.

We did not walk all the way up to the top as that would have taken about 2 hours. Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. There are many pairs of statues of foxes who are thought to be Inari's messengers so many have things like a scroll in their mouths.

There were thousands of other tourists at the shrine, mostly Japanese. I finally managed to take one picture without there being dozens of other people in the frame.