Taikodani Inari Jinja Shrine

Taikodani Inari Jinja Shrine is located in Shimane Prefecture close to the border of Yamaguchi, and lined up on the pathway leading to the shrine are around 1,000 brilliantly vermilion torii gates. The origin of the shrine is said to be in 1773, when the seventh feudal lord of the Tsuwano Domain, Kamei Norisada, called upon the spirit of Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in Kyoto and prayed for peace and tranquility for the territory its people. It is currently counted as one of the five grand inari shrines of Japan. Generally, the word ""inari"" for this type of shrines is written using the characters 稲荷, but Taikodani Inari Jinja Shrine uses 稲成 instead. The 成 character here comes from 願望成就 (ganbo-joju), which means fulfillment of wishes. The luxurious vermilion sanctuary surrounded by greenery and the elevated shrine grounds with a view of the townscape of Tsuwano let visitors feel the shrine's history of being worshipped as a longtime guardian deity of Tsuwano.
The shrine is known as a deity for the fulfillment of wishes, of course, but also success in business, good fortune, and warding off evil. The number of visitors to the shrine is second in the prefecture, following Izumo Taisha Shrine, and hatsumode during the New Year's period is particularly busy, with hundreds of thousands of people visiting every year. Taikodani Inari Jinja Shrine is also known for its unique and unusual custom of using fried foods and candles as offerings.