The magical, seemingly endless vermilion torii gates at the Fushimi Inari Taisha is undoubtedly Japan's second most popular postcard image. No guesses for the 1st - Mt Fuji ofcourse. This Shinto shrine dating back to the 8th century is easily on top of everyone's bucketlist. Spread over 4 km of woods atop mount Inari, the sheer vastness of Fushimi Inari will leave you awe-struck. There are 5000 torii gates, each donated by a Japanese business. The main gate and the main shrine sit at the bottom of a mountain also named Mount Inari. At the mid-level of the mountain is the inner shrine that is reached by a path passing through the vermilion torii’s. At about 1.5 hour’s trail up the mountain are tens of thousands of mounds for private worship. The view from top and all along the trail is simply breath-taking. A little bit about the shrine's religious significance now - Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of the god Inari, the Shinto god of rice or business per say. Foxes are considered as the Inari’s messengers, hence sacred fox statues can be found all around. This is the most popular shrine in Japan and is said to have 32,000 sub-shrines dedicated to it all over Japan. Don’t forget to drink orange juice, straight out of the fruit at one of the many street vendors lining the exit of the temple. #japan #Kyoto #torii #history #activekids #familyfriendly #funforteens #hiking #temple #zen