Today I returned to Kyoto with a few friends from the dorm to see a temple that I have been dreaming of seeing for a long time: Fushimi Inari. This is the main temple in Japan to praise the deity of wheat and harvest, so it is associated with wealth. The messenger of the deity of wheat is the fox, which is represented everywhere in the temple with statues of them with wheat in their mouths or keys. The main feature the the temple is its impressive number of Torii gates (about 10,000) all sponsored by individuals or companies and replaced about every 10 years. This temple is over 1200 years old. There was a mystical feeling at this temple, with the crows announcing their presence loudly, high in the trees. The many statues of the foxes look straight down at you with human-like eyes and stern expressions. The hike is around 8 km to go up and back down the mountain. We did the whole path and at some points we were so exhausted we could not breath. As we were climbing further the air was getting thiner so we were losing breath even faster. Some Japanese elders would jet past us with their walking stick and tell us that we should be more energetic because we are youth. At about midpoint, there is a fountain of source water that falls into a bucket and is meant for visitors to shower and somewhat be purified. Myself and one of my accompanying friends dipped our heads in the shower, although the Japanse seemed to be pointed out that we had to shower naked... At the same point, there is a pit stop with a house where a woman that looks well over 80 serves hard-boiled eggs with tea. After this much needed stop we headed back down the mountain, where the evening had already started and the many tourist shops were preparing to close.
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