The Fushimi Inari-Taisha is a Shintō shrine and the main shrine of about one third of all Inari shrines in Japan. In it the god Inari is worshipped, who is the god of foxes, fertility, rice, tea, sake, agriculture and industry, general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the main kami (god) of Shintō. He was/is also the patron of the swordsmiths and merchants. Depending on the region he is female, male or androgynous. Pure white foxes serve as his messengers.
His shrines are characteristically easy to recognize by their fox statues and torii gates. The Fushimi Inari-Taisha is one of the oldest and most famous shrines in Kyōto and is best known for the thousands of scarlet torii that wind in avenues around the mountains. It takes about 2-3 hours to get to the top, which I didn’t make due to lack of time (had to go somewhere else) and I am not slow. I made it far up with a nice view, but I didn’t know how far it would go. In any case I liked this shrine very much.
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