Fushimi Inari: the torii gates at sunrise, Tofuku-ji and the sake district

A day in southern Kyoto that starts before the crowds at the torii gates, continues to the checkerboard moss garden of Tofuku-ji, and ends with sake straight from the barrel in the brewery district of Fushimi. About 8 km of walking, most of it in the shade.

A day in southern Kyoto, from the mountain of gates to the brewery district. You start at the torii gates of Fushimi Inari at 07:00, before the crowds, walk to the checkerboard moss garden of Tofuku-ji, and ride the Keihan train south to Fushimi: sake breweries, a boat on the canal, and yakitori next to the barrel. Most of the day is on foot, about 8 km, most of it in the shade. Today's rides are on JR, Keihan and Kintetsu, and the city's day pass for buses and the subway is not valid on them: you pay per ride, ¥690 in total.

This day is part of: The Golden Route in a week: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka, day by day · Tokyo and Kyoto in 5 days: two in Tokyo, three in Kyoto · Ten days in Japan: Tokyo, Hakone, the Alps, Kyoto and Osaka · Two weeks in Japan: Tokyo, Nikko, Hakone, the Alps, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka

Verified online, September 20269 stops · 07:00 to 21:00¥9,500 · ≈ $60 per personWalking between stops: 74 min · Transport: ¥540Must on a first tripGood with kids from age 6Fine in light rainShabbat-friendly

The day on a map

9 stops, in order

Stops: 9
Walking minutes: 33

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

On Shabbat: Fushimi Inari Shrine is free and always open, and the loop on the mountain is a full day without reaching for your wallet. It only works if you sleep in southern Kyoto (Fushimi, or near Kyoto Station, a 40-minute walk). The rest of the day's stops are saved for another day.

Getting there: Start at JR Inari Station: from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara Line, two stations, 5 minutes, ¥150. The station exit is right opposite the shrine gate. If you are staying in Gion or Kawaramachi, take the Keihan Line from Gion-Shijo to Fushimi-Inari, five stations, 9 minutes, ¥240, and from there it is about 5 minutes along the approach street to the gate.

07:0009:30
Stop 1Main attractionMust
Fushimi Inari Taisha: thousands of torii gates up to the Yotsutsuji viewpoint
You start the day at the torii gates, before they fill up. The shrine is open 24 hours and entry is free, and if you arrive before 08:00 you are almost alone among the gates. The climb to the Yotsutsuji viewpoint takes about 45 minutes and is enough for most people; the full loop to the summit is another hour. There are toilets and drink machines along the way.
FreeOpen in Maps About this place
Down to breakfast
- Walk · 5 minWalk back down the gate trail to the main hall area. The cafe on the pond is on the mountainside, and the other options are on the approach street and on the way to JR Inari Station.
09:4510:30
Stop 2BreakfastRecommended
Breakfast at the foot of Fushimi Inari
You come down the mountain hungry, and at its foot there are several ways to eat. On the approach street to the shrine they sell inari sushi, rice in a pocket of sweet tofu, the food of the shrine's foxes, and kitsune udon. And if you want to sit down:
- Vermillion Cafe, on the pondAbout ¥1,000
  A small cafe with a terrace facing a pond, on the mountainside near the gate trail. Its closing days are not fixed, so check before you head down to it.
- Vermillion Espresso Bar
  The second branch of the same cafe, small, near JR Inari Station. Espresso and a little something. Open 10:00 to 18:00, and from 09:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Inafuku
  A casual restaurant on the way from JR Inari Station, with inari-zushi made with sesame and with burdock. In winter they also grill kan-suzume here, sparrows caught in the cold season. Open 09:00 to 17:00, closed on Tuesdays.
- Nezameya¥1,050 for a plate of inari-zushi
  A long-established restaurant near the back entrance to the shrine: inari-zushi, seven pieces on a plate, and grilled quail. Opens at 10:00, and you order at least one dish per diner.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps
On to Tofuku-ji
- Walk · 15 minWalk north about a kilometer, through the quiet streets of a residential neighborhood, to the southern edge of the temple grounds.
- or: Train · 25 min · ¥150JR Nara Line from Inari to Tofukuji, one station, 2 minutes. With the walk to the station (about 6 minutes) and from the station to the temple (about 11 minutes), it is not faster than walking.
On the way you can stop at:
Komyo-in: A small sub-temple at the southern edge of Tofuku-ji, with a garden of sand, moss and azaleas by Mirei Shigemori. Opens early, ¥500.
11:0012:30
Stop 3Temple and gardenMust
Tofuku-ji Temple and the checkerboard moss garden
One of the five great Zen temples of Kyoto. The Tsutenkyo bridge crosses a valley of maple trees, and in the autumn foliage, at the end of November, it is one of the most crowded spots in Kyoto. In Mirei Shigemori's garden from 1939, squares of moss and stone form a checkerboard. A combined ticket for the bridge and the garden is ¥1,000; at the peak of the foliage (14 November to 6 December) there is no combined ticket: the bridge is ¥1,000 and the Hojo garden ¥600 (the garden price from 1 November 2026). Open 09:00 to 16:30, and December to March until 16:00.
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps About this place
Ride to Fushimi for lunch
- Train · 40 min · ¥240Walk about 11 minutes to Tofukuji Station and board the Keihan Line toward Osaka, on a train that stops there. Ride 7 stations, 17 minutes, to Fushimi-Momoyama, and from there it is 7 minutes on foot to the brewery.
13:1014:00
Stop 4LunchRecommended
Lunch break in Fushimi
Fushimi is a district of sake breweries. At lunch you eat next to the barrels, and the two options are 5 minutes apart:
- Kizakura Kappa CountryAbout ¥1,500
  The restaurant of a long-established sake brewery that also runs a small beer brewery. A lunch set with beer or sake from the barrel. Lunch 11:30 to 14:30, from 11:00 on weekends and holidays, closed on Tuesdays.
- Fushimi Sakagura Koji
  A covered alley with nine food stalls and a sake bar, which has a tasting set from the 18 breweries of Fushimi. 11:00 to 22:00, with no fixed closing day, so it is open on Tuesdays too, but each stall keeps its own hours.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,500 · ≈ $10Open in Maps
On to the sake museum
- Walk · 5 minAbout 300 meters south, between the brewery warehouses, to the Gekkeikan building by the canal.
14:0015:00
Stop 5MuseumRecommended
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
A brewery from 1637, and its museum. The entry ticket includes a tasting and a souvenir, and the visit takes 40 to 60 minutes, with explanations in English. Since 1 July 2026 there is no cash payment here, only card or code.
¥600 · ≈ $4Open in Maps About this place
Down to the boat
- Walk · 3 minThe Jikkokubune pier is on the canal, right behind the museum.
15:1516:15
Stop 6Boat rideRecommended
Jikkokubune boat ride on the Horikawa canal, Fushimi
You ride for 50 minutes in a traditional boat, between weeping willows and the brewery warehouses. The boat runs from 20 March to 6 December (in August only until the 11th), and is closed on Mondays except in April, May, October and November. Booking is only on the website, up to two days before. The boat has 20 seats, and in cherry blossom season it fills up a month ahead.
¥1,900 · ≈ $12Advance booking on the website only, up to two days beforeOpen in Maps
Up to Otesuji
- Walk · 8 minFrom the canal walk north, about half a kilometer, to the covered arcade.
16:3017:30
Stop 7District walkIf there is time
Otesuji Shopping Street and the brewery canal, Fushimi
A covered street of local shops, without tourists. A few steps away is the Teradaya inn, where the samurai Sakamoto Ryoma was attacked in 1866. It closes at 16:00, so at this hour you see it only from outside.
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Down to dinner
- Walk · 5 minLeave from the western end of the arcade and turn south, about 350 meters.
17:4519:30
Stop 8DinnerMust
Dinner in Fushimi
You finish Fushimi next to the barrels, with fresh sake you drink a few meters from the brewery. The two options close on different days, so one of them is always open:
- Torisei HontenAbout ¥3,500
  An izakaya inside the Yamamoto Honke brewery: chicken skewers over charcoal and fresh sake poured from the barrel. Open 11:00 to 22:00, closed on Mondays. No reservations, and there is a queue in the evening, so it is worth arriving by 17:30.
- Kizakura Kappa Country, in the evening
  Kizakura's restaurant is also open in the evening, 17:00 to 21:30, with the brewery's beer and sake. It is closed on Tuesdays, so it is the alternative on Mondays, when Torisei is closed.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥3,500 · ≈ $22No reservations, arrive earlyOpen in Maps
Back to Kyoto Station
- Train · 30 min · ¥300Walk 8 minutes to Kintetsu's Momoyama-Goryomae Station and ride the Kintetsu Kyoto Line north to the end, Kyoto Station: 11 minutes on the express (kyuko), which stops at only some of the seven stations on the way. From the Kintetsu platform, on the south side of the station, walk through the building to the staircase on the north side.
20:0021:00
Stop 9NightIf there is time
Kyoto Station: the illuminated grand staircase and the Skyway viewpoint
You finish at Kyoto Station, for free. The station's grand staircase is lit up in the evening, and the glass walkway on floor 10 is open until 22:00, with a view of Kyoto Tower. From here you go back to the hotel or board the Shinkansen. If you are staying in Gion or Kawaramachi, skip this stop: from Torisei walk about 8 minutes to Chushojima Station and take the Keihan express to Gion-Shijo, 12 minutes, ¥320.
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Fushimi Inari: the torii gates at sunrise, Tofuku-ji and the sake district

9 stops, in order

Fushimi Inari Taisha: thousands of torii gates up to the Yotsutsuji viewpoint

Breakfast at the foot of Fushimi Inari

Tofuku-ji Temple and the checkerboard moss garden

Lunch break in Fushimi

Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum

Jikkokubune boat ride on the Horikawa canal, Fushimi

Otesuji Shopping Street and the brewery canal, Fushimi

Dinner in Fushimi

Kyoto Station: the illuminated grand staircase and the Skyway viewpoint

Higashiyama: Kiyomizu-dera in the morning, the Sannenzaka lanes, and Gion in the evening

Arashiyama: the bamboo grove at sunrise, Tenryu-ji, monkeys and the Romantic Train

Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji, Nijo Castle and Nishiki Market: the north and the center

Ginkaku-ji, the Philosopher's Path and Nanzen-ji: northern Higashiyama on foot

Kurama and Kibune: a walk on the tengu's mountain, the water shrine, and a meal above the stream

Kids' day in Kyoto: the Railway Museum, the Aquarium, To-ji and Kyoto Tower