Last Updated: Mar 24, 2024

Okayama’s Saijo Inari

One of Japan’s Top Inari Shrines

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium

For the longest time, I thought that I was cursed by Okayama Prefecture. After all, I had good reason for this belief. Until recently, every single time that I visited the prefecture, Okayama somehow found some way to almost kill me. On my first stint in this part of Japan, it rained so hard that I thought I would need to evacuate. Then on my second, I was flung from my bicycle while cycling in the highlands of Hiruzen Kogen. Suffice to say, you can’t really blame me for believing that Okayama had it out for me after back-to-back incidents like this.

Thankfully though, the fates have seemed to move on from their grudge. Nowadays, I can visit the so-called “Sunshine Prefecture” again without worrying about losing my life. In fact, just recently I was down in and around Okayama City for a monitor tour. The goal of this outing was to connect the demand for inbound travel with regional craftsmen. I’ll introduce a bit more of these amazing souls in the Other Nearby Attractions section at the end of this article but for now, I just want to note that my troupe and I swung by Saijo Inari while en route to Kojima.

Never heard of Saijo Inari before? Well, I guess you’re likely not alone in that regard. Despite often being considered to be one…