3 pieces of advice from locals when you visit Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
This website gives information about the area around Fushimi Inari. There isn’t much information about Fushimi Inari Taisha here. That’s because there’s an official website for the shrine, and other sites already have plenty of information.
In this article, we’ll share three pieces of advice for walking Fushimi Inari Taisha from a local’s perspective.
1.Free admission ,open 24 hours, So be careful.
If you don’t know much about Fushimi Inari Taisha, you might be worried. "What time does the shrine close?" "How much is the entrance fee for the torii path?" Don’t worry. Fushimi Inari Taisha has free admission and is open 24 hours. So if you have a facility that closes soon or a restaurant reservation, you should prioritize that. You can also visit Fushimi Inari Taisha early in the morning or late at night. There are fewer people, and you’ll probably get some good photos. There are also shops that are open from the morning.
However, Just be careful if you go at night. There are completely dark areas with no streetlights, and the paths are very uneven. You might fall or twist your ankle. It’s recommended to go when you can see where you’re stepping, but if you go at night, you should bring a flashlight.
2.That's not a visit to the shrine, it's trekking.
Fushimi Inari Taisha is built on Mt. Inari. When you walk along the photogenic path of torii gates, you’re actually trekking. And the path of torii gates extends for several kilometers through the mountain.
Are you planning to visit any other tourist spots besides Fushimi Inari Taisha today? Do you have the stamina and time for it? If your time is limited, you can turn back at Worship site(Okusha Houhaijyo, 奥社奉拝所), which is 200 meters ahead along the path of torii gates. If you have a bit more time, you could go as far as the crossroads(yotsuji ,四ツ辻) about 1 km ahead. If you have plenty of energy and time, you should be able to go along the ridge to visit three peaks. It's a 5 km round trip.
Mt. Inari has lots of signs and maps, and there are many people, so there’s less chance of getting lost than on other mountains. But since you’re a beginner when it comes to this mountain, you need to be careful. You don't want to get lost or waste time and energy, right?
3.Be on alert on New Year Day and festival days.
Do you know about "Hatsumoude"? About 3 million people visit Fushimi Inari Taisha from New Year's Eve to January 3rd (Kyoto City has a population of 1.42 million). There are traffic restrictions around the area, and trains and buses run more frequently. I spend this time at home because outside is dangerous.
If we rate the crowd level of New Year as S rank, then A rank would be Japan's vacation season or festival days at Fushimi Inari Taisha. From the end of April to the beginning of May is called "Golden Week," which is the spring vacation season. Fushimi Inari’s festivals are also crowded on the Hatsuuma(First Horse Day,初午) in February, the Inari Festival(稲荷祭) in April, the Hongu Festival(本宮祭) in July, and the Koin Great Festival(講員大祭) in October. Besides these, it also gets crowded from the end of March to early April when the cherry blossoms bloom, and from mid-November to early December when the autumn leaves are beautiful.
You might think, 'It's crowded almost all year round.' And that's true. You should think, 'Some level of crowding is inevitable.' If you really want to go to Hatsumoude, there's not much advice I can give you. your plan is useless, so I want you to throw it in the trash.