DON’T make this mistake in Japan⛩️

This is how we avoided he crowds at the famous torii gate walkway in Kyoto🙌

This place, called Fushimi Inari Taisha, has been all over social media lately, and it's of course a really cool spot. Sadly, however, it's hard to appreciate the beauty and tranquility with thousands of other people around⛩

There are as many as 10,000 Shinto torii gates here and the full loop takes 1-2 hours to complete👣

Save this for your future Japan trip or share it with someone who's going🙌

[trudatbellyfat]

The irony of tourists whining about how much of a shame it is that such a spiritual place has become so touristy got me like 😂😂😂

[CraigTulloch]

“It’s a shame this place is so touristy” says one of the many tourists

[pumpkinhill]

Most Shinto shrines are open 24/7.
Kyoto sunrise is at 4:45AM.
Get to it.

[jamesklebenow]

“It’s a shame this spiritual place has become so touristy…” said the tourist.

[aaabbb-vepo]

Saddest part is, in modern day the only reason people would want to avoid the crowds is to take that perfect instagram picture. Not to actually enjoy tranquility or the moment.

[shirankedo-ibuv]

I thought it was a video on Shinto etiquette, such as "Do not walk in the center of the torii gate, " "Take off your hat and bow in front of the gate, " but it was a tourist tip.😅

[gk-zbjr]

I went there last month. I strongly recommend you go to this place early in the morning if possible. It’s peaceful and quiet. Can you hear birds chirping, cats chilling, leaves rustling. You’ll understand why it is a spiritual place.

[alexsakon]

Also, you can go in the middle of the night. It’s deserted and quite spooky

[shaegoldstin]

It's a shame that this spiritual place has become so touristy
*says the tourist*

[luft]

*Complains about excessive tourism*
*Walks in the center of the torii*
**"This spiritual place has become so touristy!"**

[moonshroom]

“We thought we were early waking up at 7 am!”

7am being the literal average wake up time for people in japan

[cadenpickle]

Just visited, strongly recommend going at night. It’s beautiful with lights and absolutely deserted

[slimprism]

Go during the night, they have it lit up in a spectacular way, and you should do the whole trail. It is also basically empty and the cats interact then as well.

[hGW]

'Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded."
-Yogi Berra

[LisaF]

We went at 2pm and as long as you keep waking, it gets less and less busy.

[jaredf]

Don't forget theres a hidden bamboo forest trail off the main trail that rivals arashiyama except no one is ever in it. I don't know how to find it, just wander into the woods about a third of the way up.

[cameronguzman-keller]

Friends and I went down an off-beaten path when we started making our way back to the bottom of the shrine/mountain, and it was probably the most peaceful part of the adventure. There was no one else around, and the stairs we were trekking down were rough. We eventually ended up in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by bamboo trees, and when we reached the bottom of the hill, we came across a small village area that had no one else around. It was honestly kind of creepy at first, but after a little bit we ended back up at the Inari station. It was a very interesting experience. Definitely wanna come back and do this again at a different time!

[lwdrxxi]

I am from Kyoto and i can literally see Inari mountain everyday from my bedroom window. I know it's secret places more than anyone.

[Mamasparky]

This is 100% true. At the halfway point, almost all of the tourists head back down. My husband and I climbed to the top of Fushimi Inari and got a peaceful, gorgeous view of Kyoto with maybe four other people we saw. This is when you really take all the pictures you want of the thousand gates

[AmiyaD]

Me and a friend arrived there quite late in february. It was getting darker and darker and less and less people were there. When we were going back there were like 0 people, and it was so beautifully spooky at that time too; so I can also highly recommend visiting at later hours!