Fushimi-inari

On a hot summer evening in September 2020 we went to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto.
Last year in 2019, it was fully crowded with tourists, so we went this time knowing that there will not be many people and so it was.
We really enjoyed passing through the hundreds of gates at sunset.
The streets leading to the temple were empty, no shops, etc. due to covid-19.
As you can see on the photos, there is no crowd at all (Look at the video we did in September 2018 to see the difference ). Even though it was evening time it was still very hot, so we carried on slowly. It is really special and unique to pass through all these gates.
We definitely need to go back there once and walk until the top... it is a long way up but this spring will be a good time to do it... We finally did it in February 2021, see video here.

Fushimi Inari-taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of the kami Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is 233 metres (764 ft) above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) and take approximately 2 hours to walk up.
Inari was originally and remains primarily the kami of rice and agriculture, but merchants and manufacturers also worship Inari as the patron of business. Each of Fushimi Inari-taisha's roughly thousand torii was donated by a Japanese business.
Senbon Torii
The highlight of the shrine is the rows of torii gates, known as Senbon Torii. The custom to donate a torii began spreading from the Edo period (1603 – 1868) to have a wish come true or in gratitude for a wish that came true. Along the main path there are around 1,000 torii gates.
Source Wikipedia

© PHOTOS BY JC DUMONT