Sunrise at Fushimi Inari

Not many words to describe this, but join me on my walk that began at 5:00 am.

Fushimi Inari is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are said the be the messengers of Inari, so the whole area is filled with fox statues.

Fushimi Inari is set on a mountain side, and is largely famous for the thousands of red Torii gates that arch over the trails up the mountain. The arches are sponsored by companies and individuals, so the words on the sides are the dedications.

This Shrine and the path up the mountain is also known for being completely overrun with tourists. We’d heard that it is best to visit early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the crowds. We opted for the morning. This is sunrise at Fushimi Inari.

The trail winds up the mountain to a shrine at the top. It ducks in and out of the woods so even once the sun had partially risen, there were still areas shrouded in darkness. In the dark, surrounded by woods the red gates tower over you in an eerie way.

This seems to be a popular route for running in the morning, which feels unusual for a holy place in Japan. The deafening silence would be broken every now and then by the swift footfalls of another runner making their way up.

Japan is also filled with vending machines. I may get into this more later, or you may have noticed their prevalence in previous photos. Even shrines have them. This Kirin one was about halfway up the mountain.

This handwashing station was near the top outside a smaller shrine. Handwashing is traditional before prayer in a shrine, and many of the basins are adorned with animals or other beautiful carvings.

There was a breathtaking view of the sun rising over Kyoto near the top. I did not photograph it, as it was meant for the eyes and not the lens.

Fushimi Inari is beautiful and the February off season and early morning made for an unforgettable start to the day.