Fushimi Inari During the Day

After we turned the bikes back in, we went to Kyoto Station and got on the metro to go to Fushimi Inari Shrine during the daylight hours.  It was a little weird to be back on the metro....can't say as that we had missed it.

Nathan's turn to get a picture with cute kimono girls....

Logan was in heaven for his picture...he is seriously in love with Japanese girls.  He thinks they are so pretty and has plans on marrying one. 

You can see the trail on Mount Inari by looking at the rows of toriis.

There were kimono alerts all over this shrine as well.

At night, the gate and buildings here were beautiful in the soft light of the lanterns.  During the full light of the day, they do not disappoint....in fact, they are prettier.

The Haiden, where the kids and Raymond are throwing in their coins.

The detail was so pretty.

 

There are dozens of small statues all over the shrine of the fox - the messenger of Inari.

There are two loops that one can take through the 10,000 toriis.  The big loop is the one up the mountain, the other one stays at the base of the mountain and takes maybe 15 minutes to walk through.  This is the beginning of the smaller loop.

Youngest to oldest.

We did the smaller loop all together as a family.  This made it so Audra and Kirstin could experience a little bit of the walking through the red toriis.  The path was easy for the stroller, hardly any steps.

 

Kimono alert!

While it was nice to be all together as a family as we walked through the rows of toriis, it wasn't as cool as doing it at night.  It was beautiful and you could see the forest so much better, but the night added much more excitement to this trail.

At this point, we split up into two groups.  Caitlin and I took Audra and Kirstin home.  The rest of the crew--Tayla, Christopher, Logan, and Nathan--went up the big loop with Dad.

Tayla had her camera with her to record the kids doing the loop with Dad.

They got to the top of Mount Inari just after the sun went down.  The kids told me later that Dad had them walking up and down those steps really fast to keep up with him.  They did the whole loop in just over an hour.  They didn't explore the shrines or take any of the side paths, though.

As they were beginning the descent, the lanterns came on, so they were able to see well.  It was easier to take pictures than when the kids went with Mom, though, because it wasn't completely dark yet.

Kyoto Tower as they came down the mountain.

Meanwhile, Caitlin and I leisurely made our way back to the shrine's buildings with the two littles.

We took a side exit out of the shrine's complex and had to walk past a few shops on our way to the metro.  We saw a hina doll set in celebration of Girls' Day on March 3rd in the window of one of the shops.  So pretty!  The emperor and empress, along with some of the accessories, an orange tree and a cherry blossom tree.

As we were getting ready to board the metro to go back to the rental and put the little ones to bed, we saw the lights go on to light up the mountain trail.  Somewhere up there, Dad and the kids were near the top enjoying the sunset as they climbed the loop.

After we got the kids to bed, Raymond and I came back and did the loop together. 

Our trips to Fushimi Inari Shrine were really a fun part of our time in Kyoto.