#23. Shinjuku 

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 (08:59)

1. Inari Shrine @ 4-2 Nishishinjuku (9:33)

2. Inari Shrine @ 2-1 Kitashinjuku (9:40)

3. Kaichu Inari Shrine @ 1-11-16 Hyakunincho (9:50)

4. Inari Kio Jinja @ 2-17-5 Kabukicho (9:56)

5. Shusse Inari Shrine @ 12-7 Yochomachi (10:06)

6. Horoku Inari Shrine @ 3-19 Haramachi (10:11)

7. Inari Shrine @ 35 Yokoteramachi (10:21)

8. Shusse Inari Shrine @ Ichigayahachimancho (10:34)

9. Oiwainaritamiya Shrine @ 17 Samoncho (11:00)

10. Inari Shrine @ 1-19-10 Shinjuku (11:09)

11. Raiden Inari Shrine @ 4-4-23 Shinjuku (11:20)

12. Itoku Inari Daimyojin @ 5-17-2 Shinjuku (11:28)

Date: Friday 19th November 2021

Weather: Cloudy with sunny intervals

Area: 18.23 km²

Distance: 32.71 km

Time: 2.46 hrs

Calories Burned: 977

Top: Leicester City 2015-16 Puma home shirt

Fox Rating: 4/10

Notes: The finale! Balloons, fireworks, champagne and a cheering crowd – of course there was none of that waiting for me at the end of this most pointless of cycling journeys! However, some festival decorations were up so that did make the final stop more impressive. Beforehand the biggest worry for me here was whether or not my tyres would survive the ride as my rear one in particular had worn out so much that it had begun to split. The 8th shrine was in ‘Shin Gojira‘ (2016) and the 9th one was part of my haunted sites cycle ride a decade ago. The final Inari shrine featured in ‘Tokyo Pop‘ (1988) and felt like the grandest place to finish this challenge.

Nearby Sights: Godzilla Hotel, Shinjuku-gyoen Gardens, Park Hyatt Hotel, Shinjuku Station, Little Myanmar, Shinjuku Metropolitan Government Building, Korea Town, Japan Olympic 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     #21. Setagaya     #22. Adachi

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’