Japan Photo Guide

My favorite season is coming back! Even though I love cherry blossom season, in my opinion autumn is the best time to visit and travel around Japan. Below is a chart for the average dates to best observe fall leaves in Japan.

Along with cherry blossom season, fall is a great time to visit Japan. In any country, fall leaves are beautiful and make for great photos and this holds especially true with Japan. Japan’s most famous fall leaf is the Japanese Maple Tree which turns brilliant red in the fall. These red leaves are referred to as “kouyou” (紅葉) in Japanese.

Read more about fall in Japan and check out some of my favorite places to see the autumn foliage after the jump. See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Before you know it, the fall season will be sweeping across Japan and the leaves will be turning brilliant shades of reds, oranges and yellows. Even though I love cherry blossom season, I think the fall is my favorite time of the year. Below is a chart for the average dates to best observe fall leaves in Japan.

Read more about fall in Japan and check out some of my favorite places to see the autumn foliage after the jump. See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

The first forecast for the 2008 Cherry Blossom season has been released!

If you can choose anytime of the year to come to Japan, cherry blossom season is the best time (also fall is a great time). During this time, the seasonal flowers can be seen all over Japan and make for great photos. The 2007 cherry blossom forecast will be released around late February or early March and can be seen at the site of the Japan Meteorology Agency.

When the winters are mild (like the winter of 2007 is) the cherry blossom trees tend to bloom a little earlier than normal. While the forecasts are usually pretty close, like the weather, when cherry blossoms bloom are still slightly unpredictable! Also, different factors such as how much sun a tree gets, play a large role as well.

See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

The Hozu River Boat Tour is a one-way, two hour boat ride from Kameoka to Arashiyama, which is about 40 minutes to an hour from Kyoto. While it is a little expensive (3900 yen or $35 for adults) the 16 km boat ride down Hozugawa does offer some wonderful views of mountains, cliffs, gorges, rocks and the occasional wildlife such as birds and I even saw a monkey! That being said, as a photographer, it may not be worth it just because it is a little expensive and of course since it is a moving boat you can’t really take your time with your shots and people often get in the way. Now, with that being said, as a tourist, I really enjoyed the boat ride! For the most part the boat ride is fairly calm and relaxing; however, there are a few parts with some small rapids. Even with the rapids (really it is very few), I would say that the boat ride is safe for children even though nobody wears a life vest (seriously, it doesn’t appear to be dangerous at all). Here is a short video I took to give you an idea what it is usually like and how it sometimes gets a little fast.

Finding the dock in Kameoka can be a little tricky as there are no signs (in English anyway), but if you ask anyone about Hozugawa (gawa means river) they should be able to point you in the right direction. It is about a 8 minute walk from the station. Basically, after leaving the station turn left (you should be walking in the direction the train just came from). You will go strait and follow the road as it curves to your left. Crossover the railroad tracks and keep walking strait. You will then see a bridge on the right, pass the bridge (do not take it) and you will see a small road with a huge parking lot (which is kind of underneath the bridge if I remember correctly, but I could be wrong).

To get to Kameoka, you can take the regular JR line which I did, but if you have time I recommend taking the Sagano Romantic Train Ride which runs slower and less frequently but offers great views (especially of the river) and if the weather is nice has open windows. Below you can see a photo of this train hidden behind the Japanese Maple trees.

See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Boat Donations BoatAngel Uses Boat Donations to fund Life changing media -check www.Carangel.com/projects.html

Back in August I had a photo show at the Apple Store in Sendai. Basically, it is a slide show of some of my favorite photos of Japan accompanied by shamisen artists Rika Ooba and Yuya Takahashi. If you are unable to use the sound on your computer I strongly suggest waiting until you have access or are able to use the sound, as their music is beautiful. Enjoy!

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Arashiyama is a wonderful place to take photos and is located just west of Kyoto and next to Sagano. It can be crowded but usually not as crowded as Kyoto so if the crowds in Kyoto are bothering you, check out Arashiyama. A lot of times it is thrown on the map with Kyoto but actually it is it’s own place with it’s own wonderful spots. The best times to go to Arashiyama are of course during the fall or the cherry blossom season but there are enough places to go to that it is worth checking out at any time of the year.

Arashiyama is perhaps most famous for it’s bamboo groves (above), Togetsukyo Bridge (below), and Tenryuji; however, there are many smaller and off-the-beaten-path places that aren’t too far from the path which makes wondering around quite nice.Other activities that are nice are taking a rickshaw ride though Arashiyama, The Sagano Romantic Train (Sagano Torokko Ressha) and the Hozu River Boat Tour.

For access information for Arashiyama please see the Japan-Guide.com.

Along with cherry blossom season, fall is a great time to visit Japan. In any country, fall leaves are beautiful and make for great photos and this holds especially true with Japan. Japan’s most famous fall leaf is the Japanese Maple Tree which turns brillant red in the fall. These red leaves are reffered to as “koyo” (紅葉) in Japanese. The photo on the left was taken at The Itchiku Kubota Kimono Museum and the one on the right on the grounds of the Golden Pavilion.

There are many sites in Japanese that give more detailed information, I cannot read Japanese very well, but even so, there are some sites that are very helpful. For example rurubu.com has a map of Japan and a small color picture of a maple leaf to represent the current status of the leaves in the area. If you want to find a different site, simply go do a google search for “紅葉” followed by the year (紅葉 2006) and you will get more sites in Japanese. The photo below was taken at Kinkakuji in Kyoto.

Below is a tentative schedule for Koyo in Japan for Fuji Five Lakes, Hokkaido, Hakone, Kansai, Kanto, Kyoto, Kyushu, Nikko, Shikoku, Tohoku and Tokyo; however, depending on the weather, these dates tend to change from year to year. The bulleted list below are places I have been to and personally recommend for the fall season.

• Arashiyama
• Fuji Five Lakes
• Kyoto
• Naruko (Tohoku)
• Nikko
• Tokyo

Where to start…Well, let’s just say if you are a photographer in Japan and you do not go to Kyoto, you should really consider giving up photography. Seriously, Kyoto and the surrounding areas like Arashiyama and Nara are so spectacular that there is no excuse not to find a way to get to Kyoto. As of Spring of 2006 I have been to Kyoto 5 times, going atleast once ever season of the year. The two best times to go are, cherry blossom season and during the fall.

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan is said to have more than 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. Also Kyoto’s district Gion, is the only place in Japan where you can regularly see real geisha or maiko (and no they are not prostitutes).

There are many famous places and most of which I will encourage you to go to, but sometimes it is a good idea to go off the beaten path and find your own little treasure in Kyoto.

Here are some of the famous places you should consider going:

• • Nanzenji (My personal favorite)
  • Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion)
  • Ginkakuji (Silver Pavillion)
  • Ryoan-ji (Most famous rock garden of all of Japan)
  • Kiyomizudera (One of the most famous temples in Japan and a good view of Kyoto)
  • Tetsugaku no michi (Philosopher’s Path)
  • Kokedera (Moss Garden Temple–3000 yen and reservation required to enter!)
  • Ninnanji (A very diverse UNESCO World Heritage Site close to Ryoanji)
  • Fushimi Shrine (Shinto Shrine with thousands of tori gates)

Kyoto is about 2 hours by shinkansen from Tokyo and about 45 minutes by express train from Osaka. For more detailed access information please see Japan-Guide.com.

Here are some Links you may find useful about Kyoto:

• • Kyoto’s Visitor’s Guide–Online version of the monthly publication.
  • Kyoto Event Web Magazine–Provides information about festivals and events.
  • K’s Hostel–The best hostel in Kyoto.
  • Japan-Guide.com–A lot of really good information
  • Kyoto Prefecture Travel Guide–Official site of Kyoto Prefecture with travel information