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In my post “Temples and Sweets in Kyoto” I wrote amongst others about the Inari Sembei (fox rice biscuits) of the Inariya shop near the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Yesterday, when evening was already falling, I was again in the Inari Shrine. A round moon was hanging above the vermillion buildings, slightly hazy. The air was chilly. Was that a fox crying on the dark hill?

[Inari Shrine under the winter moon]

The shrine was closing down for the day, and so were most shops on the street leading from the station to the temple. Luckily, Inariya was still open. It stands on a corner not far from the Keihan Fushimi-Inari station.

[Inariya senbei shop]

The fox is the messenger of the Inari Shrine, and Inariya sells rice biscuits in the form of a fox face - very realistic.

[Fox rice biscuits]

I bought a set of three and ate them after taking the picture above. The taste was plain, but good. The shop also sold other kinds of senbei, for example a delicious one flavored with white-miso. I saw that the rice crackers were made on the premises.

If you haven’t been yet to the Inari Shrine in Kyoto, I can warmly recommend a visit. With its long tunnels of red torii gates climbing up the hillside behind the shrine, it is one of the most interesting spots in Kyoto. I still plan to write a full post about the shrine.

When you go, do not forget to look at all the foxy things, from ceramic statues (used on Shinto altars) to masks and of course rice crackers - indulge yourself in foxiness!