Inari-taisha and the Golden Poo

"High on the scared mountain
Up the seven thousand stairs
In the golden light of autumn
There was magic in the air"

Okay, it was June, not autumn, but today, after packing the bikes away and shipping them back to the airport (four bags, all over 35 lbs., for $80!), we went to Kyoto station to get out JR Pass and reserve some seats on the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, then headed to the famous Inari-taisha in Fushimi.

Biwako Canal, the first waterway to supply the first hydroelectric power to Japan,
now a national monument and tourist attraction during hanami. It was our
route to the train station from our hotel.

An ancient shrine, dating back to the eighth century and the most visited shrine in Japan, it is mostly known for its thousands of torii, traditional wooden gates painted vermillion. Inari is the god of rice, and the shrine is said to give good fortune to businesses, merchants, manufacturers, etc. So each torii is inscribed with the names of the businesses and people that donated the money for the gate.

The main gate, dating back to the late 1400's

The first inner gate framing the main shrine

Plaque on the first inner gate reads:
Fushimi Inari Taisha

Beautiful painted carvings on the main shrine

One of the fox statue guardians of the main shrine. He holds the key to the
grain shed in his mouth (Inari is the god of rice)

A few more fox guardians. This one has some rice in its mouth

While this little foxy has none

These two are holding a barrel open on both sides. Legend
has it if you throw a pebble in the barrel, it is good luck.
The barrel is full of little pebbles.

The first round of gates!

Many other western tourists were here, as well

They say there are over 10,000 gates in the shrine. I believe it.

The front of the gates just have Inari Taisha written on them

While the back has all the names of the donors

The torii wind through a forest...

...and up a mountain

with many smaller shrines along the way

most have fox fountains to cleanse yourself before praying

except the sword shrine near the top

There is a 4km course that takes you up the mountain and back down.
There were less and less people the higher we went.

After hiking Inari-san and visiting all the shrines, including the inner shrine that dates back to 711, we walked back to the station, took a local train to Kyoto station and boarded the Shinkansen. Three hours later (it was a slow Shinkansen!), we arrived in Tokyo Station! After a short detour to the wrong hotel, because Sumi didn't see the difference between Asakusa and Asakusa-bashi last night when planning this out, we found ourselves walking through Asakusa at night.

The Tokyo Sky Tree, which is actually in Asakusa, and the Asahi Flame, better known as The Golden Poo.

We arrived at our correct hotel and collapsed after a long day of hiking and traveling. Tomorrow we brave the mean streets of Saitama in search of drums and the meaner streets of Akihabara in search of... well, whatever electronic coolness and cute stuff we find!