Yutoku Inari Shrine in Saga Prefecture

A few weeks ago I visited a shrine tucked into a valley. It was gorgeous! My friend and I were able to walk around completely alone during the sunset. Granted... That made the latter half of our hike up the stairs a bit frightening as we tried not to think of ghosts and spirits. I definitely had one scare seeing a statue in the corner of my eye, but otherwise I was in pure awe with the stone stairs and the furin, the Japanese wind chimes. In my fantasy adventure, the setting is based on the locations I've visited or lived in. I've invented quite a few "wonders" that I didn't think existed.

This shrine was definitely not as tall nor as dangerously precarious as the one the witch in my story is rumored to be in, but it gave me a taste of stone steps nestled under the canopy of a forest. They were exactly as I imagined them, switching back to make low-inclined stairs and mixed with miniature shrines, moss, mold and boulders up the hillside.

It was like walking into my own imagination. I would have stayed much longer if the sun hadn't gone down while we were up there.

<3

Blake