This is the head Shinto shrine to the rice God Inari, famous for its kistune (fox) messengers and thousands of torii gates that line the network of trials up the mountain behind the shrine.
Kitsune messengers always come in pairs (male & female), this is one of the animals that reappears time and again in Japanese mythology, and come with the magic words for me 'a trickster personality'. I will have to investigate some more...
The beginning of the torii gates which line the trails up and down the mountain, can take hours to walk round.
Wooden prayer boards
There were many smaller shines on the way up, as well as piles of small torii gates, vending machines and restaurants!
View of Kyoto fromYotsutsuji intersection
I managed to walk round half of it, stupidly in two inch boots! which made coming down the mountain harder than the trek up. The paths just go on and on, 70km i think, but I vow I'll be back again one day with hiking boots and money for the vending machines!
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