10.Chapter: Climbing at Fushimi Inari-Taisha

The Fushimi Inari-taisha, an incredibly important shrine complex for all of Japan, featuring several temples and independent shrines, along with about 10,000 Torii gates painted in a bright orange-red, closely nestled together as they ascend the entire sacred Mount Inari, is surely one of the most popular and most photographed attractions in Kyoto. These gates have all been donated by private individuals, whose names are painted in black on one of the pillars, hoping for favorable fortunes, career success, and an increase in their wealth. A small Torii costs at least €3,000, but depending on the location and size, this price can multiply many times over.

I personally find the large buildings of the shrine complex to be hideous because they are all painted in these gaudy colors, making them look excessively new, but the Torii that wind through the dark forest are a delight to behold.

The sacred Mount Inari is 233 meters high, and the ascent is steep and arduous. I had actually come to witness the fire festival here, which is celebrated on a much grander and wilder scale than yesterday at the small mountaintop shrine. Three enormous fires are hurled at by shouting monks waving prayer sticks, and it goes on for hours! I had already seen this in 2018, and when I saw the crowds at the entrances and along the main paths through the Torii, I decided to skip this spectacle and instead rush to the summit via side paths through bamboo forests, where you only occasionally encountered a solitary hiker or another wandering tourist but could hear the most interesting bird calls. It was a steep climb, and I was drenched in sweat when I finally reached the top, but I could then leisurely descend back through all the Torii. Very few tourists hike this high and thus, one can actually enjoy the wonderful views and the stair paths mostly alone. The ecstatic cries of the throwing monks echoed up to the mountain peak.

When I was back at ground level, I just saw the priests and priestesses making their exit and retreating back to their quiet quarters.

On my way to the train, there was fast food everywhere in Japanese and commotion, and I spent the evening in my beloved jazz café Yamatoya (“Jazz and Whiskey”), but I’ll have to report on that another time; it’s quite a story, and I’m completely exhausted from the climbing, totaling another 13.5 km, of which certainly 10 km was steep uphill.