Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com

…otherwise known as Fushimi Inari-Taisha. (We nicknamed it Starfox Mountain). This shrine is the #1 Kyoto attraction on Trip Advisor, yet last time we were here, we somehow missed it. We really try hard not to fall into major tourist traps… I guess sometimes we try a little too hard. This one is amazing. If you go, prepare to walk up a ton of stairs (it’s about 35 minutes to the top), so be sure to wear good shoes like I didn’t.

Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com

Some fun geek trivia – a friend of Jack’s who lives here who worked on the old Super Nintendo game Star Fox, said that the concept of the game was inspired by the idea of flying through the torii (the orange tunnel-ey gates), at this shrine.

Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com

I personally have a little fox obsession because our little Shiba Inu pup, Annie, looks like a fox. Her nick name is even Star Fox. The significance of the fox at this shrine is this: Inari is the shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers, which is why there are many fox statues across the shrine grounds.

foxy prayer cards // loveandlemons.com Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com

Inari is also apparently the god of sponsorship. As we made our way back down the mountain, Jack started to (slowly) read some of the Japanese text on the poles… one of the first thing he deciphered were the words “dot com.” Then we realized that the beautiful Japanese text was in fact not poetic god text, rather, each was the name (and url apparently) of a different business!

Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com Fushimi Inari-Taisha // loveandlemons.com

click to follow our day-to-day Japan travels on Instagram!

8 comments

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. I love that your Shibe looks like a fox. I have a cat that reminds of the dragon from “How to train your dragon” 🙂 haha!

  2. Amazing photos and post. I’m looking up tickets to Kyoto right now :O

  3. Stunning photography and interesting post with funny details (the urls 🙂 My husband just came back from Tokyo + Kyoto for a business & pleasure trip. To his surprise, he fell in love with Japan and want me to go back with him! Thanks for sharing this!

  4. Sarah from honeyandlimes.wordpress.com
    09.19.2013

    How beautiful! I love the connection to your adorable puppy. Hope to visit Kyoto and this landmark one day 🙂

  5. I love your photography! You have capture the essence of the area for us back home. Did you get a fox? they are too cute!

  6. Asha@FSK from forkspoonnknife.com
    09.13.2013

    I remember being in this place on my visit to Kyoto. We went later in the evening and I recall how peaceful it was and inspiring. The colors yet vibrant and cheerful!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.