Fushimi Inari Shrine

Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of Inari, the Shinto deity of rice and prosperity, and has stood at the foot of Mount Inari for more than 1,300 years. Its paths are lined with thousands of bright orange torii gates, each donated by a business or family, forming tunnels that wind up the hillside past stone foxes, the messengers of Inari.

The full circuit to the summit and back takes two to three hours, but most visitors walk the famous Senbon Torii and continue to the Yotsutsuji crossroads, about halfway up, for a view over Kyoto.

The shrine never closes, so arrive at sunrise for photographs without the crowds. It is a few minutes by train from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara Line.