Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple 伏見稲荷大社 and the Senbon Torii, the thousands of Torii

By Phuong on 2016-08-04 23:32:18

Located in the southeast of Kyoto, the temple Fushimi Inari Taisha 伏見稲荷大社 was founded in 711. It is dedicated to the gods of agriculture and especially Kami Inari, from which the name of the temple comes. The sanctuary is 870,000 sqm with the main temple, Honden and behind the Honden is the Mount Inari culminating at 233 m. The road to the summit is formed by 10,000 vermilion Torii, also called the Senbon (literally thousands of Torii gates).

The Torii forming the way to the top of Mount Inari (the Senbon) are donations from individuals or companies. These donations entitle donors to have their name on the famous vermilion Torii. So along the way, you will see the name of the donor on the Torii and the donation date inscribed on the back of each Torii. The cost of a location on one of these vermilion Torii starts around 40,000 yen for a small Torii and up to more than 1 million for a large Torii. It takes 2 to 3 hours to climb to the summit of Mount Inari and back but we saw many visitors turning back after only 30 minutes of walk. The path may be difficult, there is in total 3 to 4 km with many stairs. In addition to the heat and the crowds of visitors, it is quite difficult to get all the way without stopping. In any case, visitors are free to choose how far they want to go up, the main thing is to have seen the famous vermilion Torii of Kyoto. At the beginning of the path, there are many different sizes Torii succeeding and after 30 to 45 minutes, you arrive at the Yotsutsuji intersection. From there, there are different quite nice views on Kyoto and it is the half of the road for the climb. After this crossing, there are fewer Torii and the way sinks deeper into the forest. That's why most tourists stop at this intersection. At the top, there are just a small temple dedicated to Kami Inari and 2 small signs that indicates this is the top. The way back is the same as the way up, so if you do not have the courage, it is best not to go to the top. The key is in the first half of the climb.

Well! You know everything about the temple Fushimi Inari Taisha and especially where is the famous road lies with thousands of vermilion Torii in Kyoto, called the Senbon. Good Luck!