Fushimi-Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社)

This past weekend, my brother and I made a trip to Kyoto. Along the way, I finally got to see the thousand torii gate place, otherwise known as Fushimi Inari Taisha, otherwise known as the Shrine to Rice, otherwise known as the place in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Rice is pretty important in Japan, so naturally there's going to be a pretty awesome shrine dedicated to it. Apparently the Emperor himself comes out for a little rice festival in June. I mean, that's a big deal.

The messenger of this particular deity is the fox, sometimes depicted holding a key in its mouth for the rice storehouse or a sacred jewel that represents the spirit of the gods. Apparently the fox became associated with the shrine for one of two reasons:

1. A really attractive fox couple visited the shrine so frequently that they HAD to be messengers of the gods
2. A fox gave birth to a healthy litter, making the farmers and everyone see that the shrine was associated with healthy offspring --> healthy rice production

Either way, they stand guard at the front of the various torii gate passenges and look like they might kill you before they ever let you give it the message you wanted passed along. In a creepy note, apparently the Japanese believe they can possess you; I guess a popular route of entry is underneath the fingernails. Ewww.

I was pretty excited when I came to the first grouping of torii gates... the iconic image of the two paths, complete with perplexed Japanese man staring at us.

 Each torii gate was donated by a business, and they would inscribe their names on it.

On to the best part, where where Joel and I realized that the shrine is actually a shrine on top of a mountain (233 meters above sea level). Sherpas and oxygen bottles were purchased, and I wondered how much life would change for us if we made it back down alive. 

It wasn't that bad, but I definitely wasn't expecting a crazy hike upwards for 2 hours.

It gets a little sad when you finally make it up a flight of stairs, and then you're greeted with this...

More stairs. :(

Eventually we did make it to the top to take our congratulations photos.

Successful in our quest to summit Mount Inari, we then returned to the safety and comfort of Kyoto.

How to get there:
From Kyoto Station, take the JR Nara line towards Joyo and get off at the Inari Station (should be two stops). From the train station, walk across the street and you'll see the large torii gate.