Sitting in the centre of Toyokawa city, towards the southern east corners of Aichi Prefecture you’ll find Toyokawa Inari Temple, one of the prefecture’s most spiritually significant Buddhist temples, which often also goes by the more formal name of Enpukuzan Toyokawa-kaku, Myōgon-ji. What makes this temple so unique is not only its massive collection of inari fox idols, but also the fact that it’s actually both a Buddhist Temple of the Sodo sect, as well as a Shinto Shrine dedicated to the god of fertility, rice and agriculture, known as Inari Okami.
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![Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)]()
Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)
Alongside Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and the Yutoku Inari Shrine in Saga Prefecture, Toyokawa Inari Temple is considered one of Japan’s three big inari shrines, and is definitely worth visiting if you find yourself travelling through the prefecture. The temple-shrine hybrid was first founded in 1441 by a Buddhist priest by the name of Tokai Gieki. Over its lifetime, the site has attracted many famous Japanese warriors including Oda Nobunaga, Imagawa Yoshimoto, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. All of them visited in the hopes of achieving excellent fortune both in battle and in their careers and personal life.
![Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)]()
Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)
A large portion of the temples you see today were actually created during the Meiji-period or later. However the gate, known in Japanese as the sanmon was crafted in the early to mid- 1500s making it the oldest still standing building in the entire complex. Filled with artifacts from across the chronological spectrum, the Main Hall was said to be reconstructed sometime during the Tempo period (1830-1843), while inside the temple you’ll find a wooden Kamakura period (1185–1333) statue of Jizo Bosatsu, the famous guardian of children.
![Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)]()
Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)
Reiko-Zuka, aka the Hill of Foxes is arguably the temple’s most striking feature. Tucked behind the main Okuno-in pavilion you’ll find the hill, which features a number of smaller shrines dedicated to various deities, beyond those sit the 1,000 strong family of stone, red bibbed fox sculptures. Considered to be messengers to the gods, the image of the fox comes from the legend of Ukanomitama-no-mikoto, the goddess of agriculture, whom it’s said used the white fox as her messenger to the other gods.
![Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)]()
Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)
Each year the Toyokawa Inari Temple attracts an estimated six million visitors, and like many other famous sacred sites is most popular during the New Year period. Beyond the New Year, the site is also home to three other major celebrations including Great Spring Festival, which runs in May, the Mitama Festival during August and the Toyokawa Great Autumn Festival, which is hosted in November.
![Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)]()
Toyokawa Inari Temple (Fox Temple)
The streets leading up to the site are fascinating tourist destinations in themselves. Here you’ll find a large collection of restaurants, cafes and souvenir stores lining the quaint and historic street. Be sure to try some of the local specialities, including the popular snack inari zushi, these are small slightly sweetened tofu pillows filled with sushi rice, and are said to be a fox favourite.
If you’re travelling via public transport, the best way to get there via Nagoya Station is to take the Meitetsu Line to Odabuchi Station, from there the temple is an east three minute walk. If you catch the limited express to Ko Station and switch to the local line from there, the journey will take around an hour and cost 1,400 yen each way.
- Toyokawa Inari Shrine (Toyokawakaku Myogon-ji Temple)
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- Aichi Pref. Toyokawashi Toyokawachou 1
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- 0533852030
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- 5:00-19:30
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