I mentioned in a recent post that the under-the-radar temples and shrines in Kyoto are where it’s at; well, on the other end of the spectrum is the Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is famous for its seemingly endless pathways of orange gates.
It’s a stunning sight, but it’s also as insanely packed with tourists as you’d fear, especially at the beginning of the trail.
Thankfully, it’s about four kilometres long and leads up into Mount Inari, and as you get deeper inside, it becomes less and less crowded.
Towards the end, it was finally empty enough for me to take a picture like this:
And, because I have a hard time writing a blog post without talking about food, there’s a little cafe about halfway up that sells soft serve ice cream cones. One of them was “soy bean flour” flavoured, and of course, I had to try it.
It wasn’t bad — it had a mildly nutty flavour, and was a nice treat after a long uphill walk.
You also get a pretty good view of the city from up there (which would have been better if it weren’t so hazy out).