The first thing that must occur to almost everyone who arrives at the Fukutoku Inari Shrine, which sits high on a cliff overlooking the rippling blue-green waters of the Sea of Japan, is to reach for a camera or phone and start taking pictures.

Maybe that’s why photography is prohibited at the shrine.

We obeyed the rules, which are posted in the parking lot and along all the walkways in and around one of the most beautiful shrines we have ever visited. The photos here were grabbed off the Internet. Apparently not everyone follows the rules.

The shrine is located in a remarkable setting, with a huge torii gate spanning the cliff overlooking the sea. It is distractingly beautiful, and perhaps the no-photos rule is meant to ensure that visitors don’t overlook the power and majesty of the shrine itself, or perhaps the faithful keepers of Fukutoku simply don’t want it overrun with influencers and Instagrammers.

There’s also a 400-meter-long trail of smaller gates that snakes (more on this in a moment) down the cliff edge toward the sea. In the downhill direction, the route is marked by several signs warning of マムシ – Courtenay was like, “Ok, I know that word, what is that word? – oh yea, poisonous vipers!” With that exciting news, we kept closely to the path, our phones kept carefully tucked away lest of the watching Inari foxes spotted us trying to sneak a photo. On the return trip, up the steep hill, the signs encourage trekkers to keep going, keep fighting “Gambare!”

We appreciated the support.