#21. Setagaya

Cycling may be something that I love to do but I’m not really one who goes for a ride without some kind of aim whether it be to a restaurant, a sight or just my workplace. With that in mind, and desperate to get out on my new bike, I decided to cycle round ALL the Inari Shrines in Tokyo taking each of the 23 wards one at a time.

Inspired by recent interest in tiny shrines, this idea seemed like a good way of hunting them down in a slightly more orderly fashion. This really is not so much about the actual Inari Shrines but just getting out on my bike and having a means to an end. Please note that there are many more Inari Shrines (as well as other shrines) than what’s listed below but these were all the ones registered on Google Maps. The times in brackets next to the name of the shrines note the (approximate) time of day I was at each place.

Starting Point: Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre, Itabashi-ku (08:55)

1. Inari Shrine @ 5-47-7 Kamikitazawa (9:51)

2. Sanya Inari Shrine @ 4-32-724 Kamikitazawa (9:57)

3. Inari Shrine @ 1-1 Kamitakaido (10:00)

4. Inari Shrine @ 3-30 Miyasaka (10:11)

5. Inari Shrine @ 1-3-16 Sakuragaoka (10:20)

6. Inarimori Inari-jinja Shrine @ 2-29-3 Sakuragaoka  (10:26)

7. Inari Shrine @ 8-5-8 Kitami (10:46)

8. Inari Shrine @ 1-1 Kinuta (11:04)

9. Kaminoge Inari-jinja Shrine @ 3-22-2 Kaminoge (11:19)

10. Yoga-jinja Shrine @ 2-16 Yoga (11:33)

11. Hisatomi Inari Shrine @ 2-17-1 Shinmachi (11:43)

12. Inari Shrine @ 3-38 Nozawa (12:05)

13. Ikejiri Inari-jinja Shrine @ 2-34-15 Ikejiri (12:22)

14. Wakabayashi Inari Shrine @ 2-18-1 Wakabayashi (12:41)

15. Inari Shrine @ 1-60-7 Umegaoka (12:55)

16. Choei Inarin Shrine @ 3-25-12 Daizawa (13:11)

17. Enkai Inari Shrine @ 3-26-12 Daizawa (13:12)

18. Inari Shrine @ 3-17-15 Daizawa (13:19)

19. Inari Shrine @ 5-2-7 Daita (13:29)

20. Inari Shrine @ 4-10-1 Daita (13:36)

21. Ohara Inari Shrine @ 2-29-21 Ohara (13:46)

Date: Friday 5th November 2021

Weather: Sunny

Area: 58.06 km²

Distance: 61.86 km

Time: 5.30 hrs

Calories Burned: 2,112

Top: Leicester City 1975 Admiral tracksuit top

Fox Rating: 6/10

Notes: Remember, remember the 5th of November! That was when I finally did the ward which I was least interested in visiting. Despite meticulously planning the route, I still ended up doing it in a slightly different order. I hit my head on the low torii gate of shrine 6. There were a few too many big shrine complexes for my liking with the shrines tucked away at the back or wherever. Two for the price of one regarding #16 and #17 which were housed within Hachiman-jinja Shrine. The penultimate one was a shabby place with a cute cat sleeping under an umbrella! Overall, this was a better ride than expected and good to finally do another one of these cycle rides after a six month break!

Nearby Sights: Natto restaurant, Pig Park, Komazawa Olympic Park, Toho Studios, Todoroki Valley, Gotokoji ‘Cat’ Temple, Shimokitazawa, Futakotamagawa Park, Setagaya Art Museum.

Click on the following links for other posts from the ‘Foxed In The Head’ Series…

#1. Itabashi     #2. Toshima   #3. Kita   #4. Katsushika   #5. Shinagawa   #6. Kōtō   #7. Shibuya     #8. Nerima     #9. Meguro     #10. Bunkyo     #11. Sumida     #12. Nakano     #13. Edogawa     #14. Taito     #15. Chiyoda     #16. Suginami     #17. Chūō     #18. Ota     #19. Arakawa     #20. Minato

Click here to read `TF Top 10……Smallest Inari Shrines In Tokyo (Part 1)

Click here to read ‘TF Top 10……Tokyo Themed Cycling Rides’