Kind of.
Yes. Fushimi Inari Taisha is a real shrine located on the eastern side of Kyoto in Japan. It’s the location with thousands of torii climbing up the mountain that you’ve likely seen on Instagram. You can go to the exact spot I took the reference photo and look out over Kyoto, and it will look mostly like what you see here.
But… I also lied to you. Everything you see here doesn’t actually exist.
When I realized I needed this specific angle for my OFFstream manga one-shot, I hunted for reference photos, drone footage, and aerial videos on YouTube and TikTok just to be sure.
The answer was always no. You can’t see the vast majority of the torii from above. They’re completely hidden by tall trees!
Which brings me to the part I actually want to tell you about: while that core view is mostly real, the rest of the mountain and surrounding buildings are a complete pile of bullshit.
I lied to you on purpose.
You have to make the place feel as grand as it deserves to be, but it still has to stay grounded or it won't be believable. As an artist, you have to accept that your art is not a photograph, and it is not your job to recreate one. Artists and writers lie to you deliberately so that you will suspend your disbelief and join us on a journey.
Want to see how the magic actually works?
I’m pulling back the curtain on Patreon with the full, step-by-step breakdown of this page!
Head over to read the complete post, including:
The Full Photo Gallery: My actual Japan reference photos vs. the final manga art.
Annotated Art Diagrams: Exact callouts showing how I fabricated the shrine entrance, duplicated stacked buildings, and cheated perspective.
The Bathroom Secret: Why I intentionally enlarged a public restroom to make the whole scene feel more authentic.
