17 March Fushimi Inari Shrine and Thousands of Torii Gates

The 17th of March was my last day in Kyoto, I had originally planned to spend a night staying in a temple, however due to the need to have access to Skype as the disaster unfolded in the Fukushima area I opted to stay another night in the Hostel. My adventure for the day was another iconic destination for tourists who visit Kyoto. Even though I spent a week in Kyoto in 2009, I spent most of that time in Arashiyama and the outer suburbs, and thus missed a lot of the main 'attractions'.

Fushimi Inari Shrine is often referred to in brochures as the Shrine of a Thousand Gates, however when you are there you realise that there are MANY thousandS of torii gates. There are enormous ones that are a few storeys high and tiny ones no bigger than my hand, and they are EVERYWHERE. I spent about 3 or 4 hours walking up and down pathways all around the mountain side and I still did not see every torii gate in the area. The main shrine is said to bring luck or wealth to businesses, so the torii gates are actually donated by businesses who want some luck. I took hundreds of photos and a couple of videos, but as they will probably mostly look the same I will just include a smallish selection of photos and one video at the end.

*An actual photo of me, just to prove I really was there* 

*This is my favourite photo, it gives you a better idea of what it felt like to be there, in the forest walking under these bright orange gates that form a tunnel*

*These were mini torii gates, about 20 or 30cm tall, which were hanging on racks*

*View of Kyoto city from the top of the mountain*

*Fox statues are common at Shinto Shrine*

*I walked along the left hand tunnel, and the video of that walk is below*