The southernmost of Kyoto's great pilgrimage districts extends from the city's industrial fringe into steep forested hills scored by roughly 10,000 vermilion torii gates. Fushimi Inari-taisha is the head shrine of some 30,000 Inari shrines across Japan and one of the country's most visited sites -- yet the upper trails above the first tunnel of gates shed most visitors within twenty minutes, leaving the forested ridge genuinely quiet. The walk to the summit of Inari-san takes about two hours and passes small sub-shrines, stone fox guardians, and stalls selling grilled sparrow and quail on skewers.
Below the shrine, along the Horikawa canal, Fushimi has been a sake-brewing town since the Momoyama period. The canal-side warehouses of Gekkeikan and Kizakura still operate, and the neighbourhood's izakayas serve the local fushimizu -- soft spring water from the shrine hills -- mixed with light, fresh sake of a style particular to this part of the city.