When the cold takes us to the red pillars, Fushimi Inari⛩️

Oh my! We just went to Japan and had a chance to stop by Kyoto in December. Let me tell you, one of the highlights of the trip was going to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine ⛩️.

It feels like… thousands of red torii gates lined up on a mountain in the cold, windy air, and the sound of leaves rustling along the way. It’s so romantic, quiet, lonely, but so good! 🥹

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December atmosphere ❄️
• When we went, the temperature was around 4–10°C, refreshingly cool, but not to the point of being terribly cold.
• The sky in the morning has a light fog, very romantic. When the sun comes out around late morning, the light through the torii gates is so beautiful that you can’t stop taking pictures.
• The surrounding trees are starting to become bare because many of the leaves have fallen. But there are still some red-orange trees left, it's a winter mood that I'm really starting to understand.

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Walking route

We started walking from the main area below where there is a large shrine first, then slowly walked up the "Senbotori" (thousand torii gates).
• When we got closer, the torii gates were bigger than we thought, plus there were letters engraved with the names of donors on the back of every one.
• When we walked deeper, there were fewer people, and it became a quiet zone where we could only hear the sound of footsteps and the wind - it felt like we were with ourselves.
• After walking for about 30-40 minutes, we reached the Yotsutsuji Intersection viewpoint. We could see Kyoto from a high angle in a blur, it was really beautiful in the morning light.

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Things for sale around the shrine 🍢🦊
• There were hot skewers for sale all along the way, such as grilled mochi, grilled chicken with sauce, fish balls.
• There were a lot of cute amulets. Especially those related to work, study, and luck (this is the Inari god that Japanese people respect for success).

• If you want to try something Japanese, we recommend writing ema or drawing fortune sticks (even if you can't read it, we can tie the unlucky ones to trees to ward off bad luck, lol).

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Things to know
• Wear comfortable shoes because the path is long and there is a small climb.

• It is recommended to go in the morning, there will not be many people and the morning light through the red pillars is very beautiful.

• There is no entrance fee, walking along the entire path is free.

• If you go around New Year's, the shrine will start to get lively, prepare to receive people coming to pray for the New Year (Hatsumode).

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Summary

Fushimi Inari Shrine in winter has a quiet charm. Instead of being at its peak like the changing leaves or cherry blossoms, December is a really good time to rest your heart.

If you have the chance to come to Kyoto in winter, don't miss this place — it's not just beautiful to the eyes, but you can feel that it has a very peaceful energy. ❤️

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