DON’T make this mistake in Japan⛩️ 

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 😂😂😂

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.😅

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

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

“We thought we were early waking up at 7 am!” 7am being the literal average wake up time for people in japan

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.

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

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

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.

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!

Do it at night. It's magical and mostly empty. I wouldn't recommend doing a super touristy destination empty at night really anywhere but Japan. Japan is ridiculously safe though so you can do stuff like that. Truly amazing.

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

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

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!

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.

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

This ⛩️ is the symbol of Japan 🇯🇵.

OMG! Did the walk up the Mountain! Beautiful!! We arrived about 9:30 local and, yeah, was kinda busy. It was summer, so by the time we got to the top at 10:30-11, we were hot and kinda sweaty. Got some drinks and ice cream to cool back down. Viewing many of the family shrines was moving and calming. The walk down the back side was nice and shady. A “must do” when visiting Kyoto!! Thx!

I got there at around 1:30pm It was busy at the bottom, but if you hike up 20-30mins it’s pretty empty. There are also many smaller prayer sites as you ascend.

“It’s kinda a shame” made me die

Jup, that is so true. The higher you geht, the fewer people you'll see. So if you want good pictures, go higher 👌

You all are complaining about how the tourist is complaining about the lost of spirituality when literally the writing on the Torii gates are the names of companies that bought and sponsored it

there’s a hiking trail up there. If you really don’t care about the touristy spots you would just hike up the trail as many locals do. but just be honest and admit you are a tourist and can’t miss out on the imaginary clout you gain from posing at a landmark

We went to a beautiful side path to the top where we could hear the monks praying in the main temple and met so many smaller shrines along the way. One of the most important spiritual experiences of my life.

Yup exactly. We walked all the way around and you're so right, just keep waking just keep waking 😂

Is that a tourist saying it's unfortunate that so touristy??

Coming back from Japan. Fushimi Inari is absolutely splendid, even with the crowd.

Yup, did the exact same and man it was so peaceful and lovely at the top! Also felt like a huge achievement in itself

Protips: this temple, the fushimi Inari, is one of the rare temple open 24/24, so you should go in the evening! The main path are lighted, ambiance is amazing and it's no packed at all.

Made the first train 2 days ago, and while it was dark, by the time I reached the crossroads, it was sunrise.

I was there when it opened at 6am. By the time I was headed down from the temple the hoards of bus people were headed up. I took a taxi to the gate.

As I'm in Osaka trying to plan a visit to this place this week, this is super useful to me. Thank you!

A lot of the local high school coaches make their athletes run all the way up and down that mountain for training. And Japanese people do go there, but they visit for specific holidays and events. Japanese religions don’t require weekly worship. Going there with no reason on random days is like going to a Christmas Mass in July- you wouldn’t.

I went at the same time in the morning, and there was almost nobody. By 9 it was getting packed, but I had a good headstart so I mostly had the place for myself, climbing up. It's quite a jog though. My suggestion would be to take one of the side paths that you encounter that lead to more secluded areas and smaller shrines, if you want to soak in the eerie atmosphere. Of course when you get back to the main path the crowd may have caught up with you.

My friend and i went at night. It made a huge difference and the gates looked awesome

Wow, quintessential quintuplets really accurately drew this area

Go at 7-8 PM. It’s darker out, but there are almost no crowds. It’s nice and spooky when you get to the top.

I took the back way and it was amazing! Barely anyone else. Only a slight incline on dirt paths and I didn’t have to climb a few hundred stairs like everyone else. Only saw crowds on the way down. Everyone looked miserable climbing all those stairs!

OK, now it’s on my bucket list!!

Fushimi Inari is open 24/7. The problem with wanting to go to the very top is if you have a weak bladder. It takes 45 minutes to reach the top from the last public toilet available and another 25-30 minutes to go back down. 😅

Now they know what to do. Soon the top will be as packed and that's on you! Tourist!

Can recommend doing this when the sun sets, despite being empty, you won't be alone

It's true. Fushimi Inari Taisha is only jammed-packed until the first stop, but after that there's barely any people around, it can get kinda creepy if you hike up alone (but no less beautiful!)

or…. come there early. i went there at 6am, no crowds ✨

Lmao, I arrived there at around 11 AM. Full of tourists at the entrance, like it was difficult to even walk. Up the mountain there was literally no one

I love Japan ❤ my dream destination

Thought this place was familiar and realised its in like 100 different animes

Me and my group arrived at around 4:50 am and it was very quiet and not crowded.

I went at about 7am when it was raining and it was pretty empty. By the time I got back to the bottom there were literally hundreds of people pouring in, I'm not a morning person but it was worth the early start here.

I travel all over the world and most tourist are pretty lazy and just hang around the entrances and main sections of attractions. So many places I’ve found in the world by just being in good enough shape to walk further than most other people.

I did the full climb up and down with my family and it took us like 5 hours. It was kinda rough but totally worth it. Like he says, the closer you get to the top the less people, but be aware it's not just a chill little detour lmao Also, there's tons of temples graveyards etc on the way up and they're all beautiful.

We went at 8 in the evening and it was deserted.

I skipped over the main shrine and focused on the climb. Something that nobody mentions is their are several rest stops on the way up. I’ve cream, kahigori, and souvenirs are all available along the climb.

so damn true.. did the tourist area first trip (tour group). left feeling not satisfied. 2nd trip walked all the way up to the summit. so much better!

Finally a Japan travel tips video with information I can wholeheartedly agree with.

Hahaha. You thought 7am was early!!! Hahahha😂😂 that about the time I am headed to sleep. Go there at 3 am on a full moon. That’s the best.

We got there around sunset and there was hardly anyone there. As it got dark and the lights came on casting eerie shadows it was beautiful. Took us about e hours to do the full walk up and around the mountain. The only problem was that as we left nothing was open for dinner or a drink.

Spiritual place with a shop every 50mts

My wife and I met some locals who took us there at 9pm where there wasn’t a single soul. It was just perfect

the shrine is soo familiar

I was lucky enough to come here as an exchange student before the borders had opened to tourists. We arrived very early, and there was hardly a soul the whole way up the mountain

We woke up at 5:30 and got there around 6:15 AM. It was a nice walk up to the shrine at the top of the mountain without having to walk through people's self designated photoshoots lol

だからここは涼しいんです。うわー、このビデオが好きです。

It was so nice when I went it’s so pretty

Insider tip - you can show up in the middle of the day on a week day and it STILL won't be crowded at the top.

“it’s kind of a shame that it became so touristy” -Mrs. tourist 😂

Nothing more spiritual than filming there.

Thanks

There’s also a back way down the mountain the other way

I went there in June, it was around lunchtime and very busy.

I first saw this in anime wow

I wanna go there too‼︎ From Japanese😂

Its open 24/7. You can go there whenever but its dark at night 😂😅

We went at 5 and were all alone. Was amazing

Bro im right here now:3

7 am as early -- LOL

You’re making a video about a tourist spot, and saying it’s starting to feel touristy? Geniuses

did you bow in front of the torii gate?

I thought they were going to give some boring advice such as telling tourists not to just take pictures of what's written on each gate's "column", but to rather take pictures of the whole scene, more like a panoramic view, since what is written on them is just the name of the company that made a donation to the place and not a sacred name or prayer. But, wow, even that would have been more helpful and interesting that the actual content of the video. 🤷🏻‍♀️

“ It’s kind of a shame that such a spiritual place has become so touristy” is freaking hilarious. 😂 I guess he’s a local.

JAPAN is TOP!

"What you don't see online..." proceeds to show it online

I have a honest question. I plan on moving to Japan and i own a dog, is it ok to walk him in outdoor places like this? Or is it disrespectful?

How long does it take to walk to the top?

"its quite a walk-" Europeans: you said walk?

Fun fact: This is where the developers of the original SNES Star Fox got the idea for it being an on-rails shooter.

You aren’t visiting a very touristy place, you are the tourist.

Climbing that mountain took us a long, long time. It is after all a mountain, so those with non-conditioned bodies beware. Sprinting to the top? A dream. (Also, define top. Top or to where there are very few tourists?)

Tatsächlich gibt es noch einen kleinen Pfad der irgendwo abzweigt und auf dem wirklich niemand mehr ist Da sind keine roten Tore mehr, und alle schreine sind mit Moos überwachsen War sehr schön, aber man muss gut wandern können

Of these days im gonna walk all the way up there

Even if u arrive ať 2 pm. And you go on top. There will be like Very few pll

That’s why we like to go the back way and go through the bamboo forest. Just be careful lots of spiders and bugs.

Time of year also has an effect.

it's fushimi inari taisha, jsyk. i walked the entire mountain lol ot was wonderful

You need to get there at like 5am 😂