Fushiama Inari Shrine

This morning we walked up a mountain, Mt. Inari just outside Kyoto, where thousands of red Tori gates line the path that winds its way to the top, scattered with shrines to Inari, the goddess of foxes, fertility, rice, tea and sake amongst other things. My kind of goddess!

It’s about 5 km to the top and back but worth it for the views along the way. The first part was crowded but most people turned back after a few hundred yards so it made for a pleasant walk, though our knees knew we’d climbed a lot of steps when we got back!

The main blip is of Tess setting off back down from the top and there are extras of the huge Tori gate at the entrance and the start of the walk.

We caught the train back to Kyoto, had a bit of lunch then caught a bus to the Kiyumizo-dera temple up in the hills just south of where we were yesterday. As the extra shows, it’s perched on a steep drop with more spectacular views over the city and boasts a fine pagoda.