Did you know that the Fushimi Inari shrine is actually located on a mountain and that it’s possible to hike all the way to the top?
Most people just walk through a few Torii gates, realize that the place is super overcrowded, and that the trail starts to incline (and god forbid we work up a sweat), so they stand in line to take a few pictures, and then turn around to catch the train to Arashiyama bamboo forest to repeat the ritual.
In our opinion, this is not the right way to truly experience Fushimi Inari.
If you really want to experience everything Fushimi Inari has to offer, then do yourself a favor and hike the trail all the way to the top of the mountain.
You will realize that the higher up you get on Mount Inari, the lesser the crowds. So if you really want to experience the tranquility of this spiritual place, then we suggest that you put on your hiking shoes and get going!
In this travel guide, we’ll go through everything that you need to know about hiking to the top of Fushimi Inari, so that you can do this hike yourself. And afterwards, we’ll share our day exploring this unique place in Japan.
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Things to know before visiting Fushimi Inari
Let’s start this blog post by going through everything that you need to know about hiking the Fushimi Inari trail. Hopefully, it’ll prepare you to visit this amazing place by yourself.
What is Fushimi Inari
Fushimi-Inari Taisha is a shinto shrine in Kyoto that’s known for thousands of torii gates that make up an incredible forest trail on a mountain top. It’s pretty impressive!
If you have Instagram, then you have probably seen a lot of pictures from Japan where people pose in front of this never-ending maze of orange torii gates. This is Fushimi Inari. A spiritual place set in nature.
The Fushimi Inari shrine actually dates back to 794 when Kyoto became the capital of Japan. Kyoto was the capital of Japan until 1868 before it was moved to Tokyo as we know it today. So there is a lot of history to be found in this sacred place.
What is a torii gate
A torii gate marks the entrance to a sacred place. Fushimi Inari Taisha is made up of thousands of orange torii gates. All the torii gates are donated to Inari, the Shinto God of rice.
Fushimi Inari Taisha (ไผ่ฆ็จฒ่ทๅคง็คพ) is therefore a sacred and spiritual place. You’ll see a lot of Japanese people say a prayer at the big shrine at the bottom of the mountain. So be please respectful.
Apart from the many torii gates and shrines, you also see a lot of fox statues in the area. Apparently, the fox is supposed to be Inari’s messenger. So keep an eye out for all the foxes.
How to get to Fushimi Inari
The public transportation system in Japan is amazing, so you can easily get to Fushimi Inari from anywhere in Kyoto. There are two main ways to get to the entrance. Either take the Keihan Main Line to the Fushimi-Inari Station or take the JR-line to the Inari Station.
If you’re staying in Osaka and you’re limited on time during your trip, then you can always join a guided Kyoto tour. During this tour, you will see the highlights of Kyoto in just one day, Fushimi Inari included.
Fushimi Inari entrance fee 2023
It’s free!
There is no entrance fee at Fushimi Inari. All the more reason to visit, right? Save some money, discover a unique place in Japan, and go for a hike. What’s not to like?
Fushimi Inari opening hours 2023
Everyday, all day and night.
There are no official opening hours at Fushimi Inari. You can go visit the shrine whenever you want. This means you can even do this trail during the night. One of our readers suggested this – thank you, Toshizo!
The best time to visit Fushimi Inari
People say to go really early in the morning if you want to beat the crowds.
However, it’s not necessary to come early if you want to hike to the top of Fushimi Inari because the trail will be less crowded, the further up the mountain you go.
But if you really want the place to yourself, then the best time to go is around sunrise.
Fushimi Inari hiking information
Fushimi Inari is located on Mount Inari, a small mountain, which is only 233 meters above sea level. So hiking to the top of Fushimi Inari really isn’t the biggest physical challenge. For us, it’s more all the steps you have to climb to the top that seem tough rather than the actual hike itself.
This means that the Fushimi Inari hike doesn’t have to take all day. But you should set aside around 4-5 hours to do the hike, so that you can take pictures, explore the shrines along the way in the forest, and have lunch at the viewpoint halfway. That way you have enough time to really enjoy this amazing place.
If you’re unsure about going to Fushimi Inari by yourself, then you can always join a guided hiking tour. This tour has great reviews, and it takes you past hidden trails and shrines in Fushimi Inari. You don’t have to think about getting lost or finding the best places to see in the area, because your guide will take care of it!
Here are a couple of things you should put in your backpack before visiting Fushimi Inari: Mosquito repellent (if you visit in the summer months), good walking shoes, and lots of water.
Our story hiking the Fushimi Inari trail
All right, let’s jump right into our day at this amazing place in Japan. Let’s start by the entrance.
1. The hike at Fushimi Inari begins
You know you’ve reached Fushimi Inari when you enter a massive torii gate. From here you see a big building ahead – this is the main shrine.
Many Japanese people say their prayers here before continuing onwards to the mountain trail and the orange torii gates. There are some customs involved in praying at a Shinto Shrine that you should know if you want to do it.
Behind the main shrine, the hiking trail begins.
You know you’ve entered the Fushimi Inari trail when you start walking within the orange torii gates.
Don’t let the large crowds at the beginning of the trail scare you off. Believe us when we say that if you arrive around 9-10 AM on a sunny day in September just like us, the trail is going to be absolutely PACKED. There was literally signs indicating in which direction people had to walk, so they didn’t go in the opposite direction of the big crowds.
But remember that most people don’t go all the way to the top of Fushimi Inari, and the crowds thin out the higher up you get on the trail. So don’t lose your spirit, just keep on hiking because Fushimi Inari is so worth it.
After hiking for about 20 minutes, you are over the worst part of the crowds. A lot of people turn around here, so expect the trail to slowly start getting better at this time.
A little tip for this part of the hike, if you see a small opening and a trail from the torii gates, just try to follow it.
We stumbled upon a lot of small shrines this way. I even tried to pray at one of the shrines just to see if I could get closer to understand this magical place. You can watch my attempt in our travel vlog.
We also found some massive bamboo trees by some of these shrines. We literally had a small bamboo forest all to ourselves. How cool is that?!
So if you really want to appreciate Fushimi Inari, then don’t forget to get off the main hiking trail to visit some of the small shrines along the way – or simply just join the hidden hiking tour.
A lot of the shrines that we saw were very old, so it kinda looked like they had become part of nature. There is no doubt that Fushimi Inari really does feel spiritual. We already loved this hike!
2. A lookout at the halfway point
Step after step.
Deeper and deeper into the forest.
Further and further up Mount Inari.
That’s basically the Fushimi Inari hike. Yet there is nothing basic about this trail, just imagine how amazing it feels like to walk through 10.000 torii gates.
When you’ve walked for about 40 minutes, and you start to get a bit tired of the steps, you will get your reward – A nice viewpoint over Kyoto!
Most people stay here for a while and take some pictures. Glenn did the same. He had been carrying our tripod all the way up to this point, so it was only logic to get some use of it now. Me on the other hand, I opted for another reward that I thought would improve this viewpoint and my spirit – An ice cream.
The great thing about making it to the halfway point are all the small shops. Here you can enjoy a lunch with a great view. Or maybe just get a simple ice cream to make up for some of the calories you lost walking up those steps.
But the absolute best thing about making it to the halfway point is that most people seem to turn back from here on. Maybe the viewpoint is reward enough for most people – so why keep on going? Why continue the torture of the steps?
Well, we think that if you make it to the halfway point, then you simply have to keep on going! Because this is when the trail starts to feel really magical!
Since so many people turn back, you almost have the rest of the trail to yourself. You only meet a handful of fellow hikers on their way to the top of Fushimi Inari.
So the last part of the trail is basically the opposite of the beginning of the trail – no crowds and great photo opportunities!
3. Reaching the top of Fushimi Inari
After about 60 minutes of hiking (depending on how many ice creams you eat at the halfway point) you’re at the 233 meters top of the Fushimi Inari Mountain.
And can you guess what’s at the top?
A vending machine.
That’s the thing you got to love about Japan, you can always find a vending machine! So of course we opted for a juicy Kirin Lemon beverage.
Oh – and there was also a a really nice-looking shrine on the top of Fushimi Inari. We’re not exactly sure what kind of shrine it was, but it did look very old. It wasn’t as big as the Fushimi Inari Taisha in the beginning of the trail. But we still think it was worth hiking all the way to the top of Mount Inari for this.
When you’ve spend some time exploring the shrine on the top, you should continue on down the trail.
Don’t walk back down the same way you came from. Instead, follow the trail ahead – this actually turned out to be our favorite part of the Fushimi Inari hike.
The serenity of the forest and the older looking torii gates at this part of the trail really won me over. So please move forward on the Fushimi Inari trail, don’t hike back down the way you came from. The trail only goes down from here on, so finish it the right way.
Since there are little to no people at this part of the trail, it’s a great place to take some more pictures.
However, we think that the best place to take some good shots was from the halfway point to the mountain top. Because on the way down, the torii gates stand further apart from each other, which doesn’t create the same cool pictures you get on the way to the top of Mount Inari.
4. Going down: Watch out for the monkeys
During our hike we saw a lot of signs that said, “beware of wild monkeys and boars”, but we hadn’t seen any.
We always love watching animals in the wild and we were a tiny bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see any. But with all the people walking the trail every day, we can understand why wild animals stay away from it.
However! On our way down the trail, we saw a monkey. It was a Japanese macaque and it was really big! I actually found it quite intimidating.
Apparently, it had stolen some food from a tourist and decided to sit in the middle of the trail to enjoy it.
I didn’t dare to walk by or even move at all. I just stood completely still and watched it eat. It was pretty exciting!
That’s until something really annoying happened.
Some misbehaved tourist who thought he was really cool started to tease it. The man kept getting closer to the monkey and he yelled at it. Who yells at monkeys? Come on. He was such an idiot.
In the end, the monkey tried to attack him. The man was so lucky he didn’t get bitten.
There was also another guy who tried to feed the monkey. But the monkey literally slapped the food out of his hand – see that was hilarious! We even got it on film! You can watch it in the travel vlog.
Please, if you do encounter wild animals on the trail, like monkeys or boars, just watch them from a safe distance and leave them alone.
During our travels we have seen so many people who try to feed and get close to wild animals. Some people have this weird idea to treat wild animals like pets. The result is often that the animals (especially monkeys) become aggressive towards humans. So please, leave the wildlife alone.
Anyways, the trail back down took us a small hour.
So you should set aside 2-3 hours in total to do the hike all the way to the top of Fushimi Inari and all the way down again. Throw in an extra hour or two into this time frame, and you will have plenty of time to take pictures, eat an ice cream, and explore the shrines on the trail.
Enjoy the Fushimi Inari shrine, it certainly is a must-visit in Kyoto!
Did you ever hike Fushimi Inari Trail? And did you make it to the top of Mount Inari? Or are you considering going on the hike? We honestly cannot recommend this trip enough! Whether you go alone like we did or join a hiking tour, then we’re sure you’ll have an excellent time.
Fushimi Inari is such a special place in Japan, and we would really love to go back some time in the future.
Enjoy this magical place on earth. Thanks for reading and happy travels!
Read our other blog posts from Japan:
I love hiking and yes! You are right, I never heard of Fushimi Inari but thanks for your great article I’ll be including this in my Japan bucket list. Keep it up!
Sounds good! It’s an amazing place! ๐ Cheers.
I’ve only really gone on hikes locally, but I’d love to do more international hikes! The only international hike I’ve done was to Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Great post!
I hear Scotland has the most beautiful hikes, I hope to go someday!
Thanks Krystianna ๐
Wow. I can honestly say that this is the most beautiful hike that I have ever seen! I would also love to say a little prayer in that forest <3
Thanks Alexandra, it sure is a magical place ๐
Maybe someday you will <3
This looks amazing! I definitely would have done the same as you and kept going with the hike to get away from the crowds. Japan is on my bucket list so I hope I get to visit this place soon!
Fushimi Inari is super touristed, but it’s seriously for a reason.
Just keep going and you’ll make a great memory! ๐
I was just talking to my brother about traveling to Japan someday! I love that there are parts that aren’t super crowded here (definitely laughed about the vending machine, haha).
Japan is definitely one of my favorite countries! I really want to go back. I hope you get to go some day ๐ That’s Japan, I think they have more vending machines than actual people haha! They are everywhere, I love it!
I made it to the top of the trail but so many steps did something to one of my legs (I am a bit out of shape). It wasn’t working properly on the way back down and fortunately I did it at the end of the trip so after a couple of weeks back home it sorted itself out. Very well worth doing tho, even with a gammy leg.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that… There sure are a lot of steps to the top! But it’s so worth it when you have the area to yourself. Glad to hear your leg sorted itself out again – I bet some ramen was a great consolation upon that gamma leg of yours.
Climbing Mt. Inari at night is also interesting. First and foremost, there are fewer visitors at night, so you can have the view of Fushimi Inari Taisha and Mt. Inari all to yourself. In addition, it is very fantastic because it is lit up in the middle of the night. However, wild boars will appear at night, so please be careful. But fear not. They will not harm you unless you attack the boars or approach the baby boars.
This is such great advice! Thank you for the night-climb recommendation Toshizo Saejima ๐ Best, Cecilie
Thank you for this! It’s good to know there’s a rest stop at the halfway point and a vending machine at the top. I won’t have to worry about running out of nourishment, then. I think I’d be scared if I saw an animal in the path! Sounds like a great experience. Thank you. Your account was the most detailed I’ve seen. Most people don’t go up all the way like I want to.
Hi Janie, we’re happy you found it helpful! ๐ Just bring enough cash for the vending machines along the way and you won’t go thirsty on the trail. I’m glad you’re going all the way up because you really have it all to yourself after the viewpoint halfway. Enjoy this magical trail!
All the best from us.