Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Night Walk & Lantern-lit Shrine Tour

4.97

(307 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We ducked off the main street in Kyoto just as the last bits of daylight faded — you could already feel the difference. Our guide, Yuko, waved us over with this tiny flashlight, half-apologizing for her “bad jokes” but honestly she made me laugh more than once. The entrance to Fushimi Inari Shrine is always busy in photos, but by night it felt like we’d stumbled into a secret version of the city. The air smelled a little woody and cool, almost damp — I guess from all those trees around Mount Inari.

Walking under those endless red torii gates at night is nothing like daytime. The lanterns throw this soft orange light that makes the paint look deeper somehow. Yuko pointed out tiny fox statues I’d never have noticed on my own (she told us “kitsune” are messengers for Inari — I tried to say it back and totally failed; she just grinned). There were a few other people around, mostly locals heading home or quietly praying, but it was mostly just our small group and the sound of gravel crunching underfoot.

I didn’t realize how much calmer everything would feel without crowds or heat pressing in. At one point we stopped near a smaller shrine and just listened — no traffic, no chatter, just wind moving through leaves and a faint incense smell drifting by. Someone lit another lantern while we stood there. It’s funny how simple things stick with you; I still think about that quiet moment more than any photo I took. We didn’t climb the whole mountain (the tour doesn’t go all the way up), but honestly I was happy to linger where we were.