Japan Photo Guide

Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the most famous and popular places for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in Tokyo. The park itself is huge and literally has thousands of cherry blossoms trees, and a few different kinds. It might even be a little too big as I felt like I didn’t really know where to go; however, truth be told, it doesn’t matter so much where you go as I am sure you can find something to your liking.

I am a pretty big fan of Yoyogi Park and after visiting Shinjuku Gyoen, I think I still prefer Yoyogi, but I was really happy I went to see the cherry blossoms there. See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

I have not actually been here, but the latest winner of the Japan Photo Contest has! Congratulations to Laurenz Bobke who took this great photo at Shinjuku Gyoen! Laurenz had this to say about it, “It was taken in the Shinjuku Gyoen Chaya, Tokyo. After a stroll in the garden, we had two cups of Matcha (finely ground Japanese green tea used for the tea ceremony) with the traditional accompanying sweet in the tea house. Although not a real ceremony, the preparation of the is a very meditative process. The woman making the tea was sitting with her back to us, while I shot across the lacquer table with my small Lumix capturing the reflection.”

For more information about Shinjuku Gyoen, check out the wikipedia or the official website of Shinjuku Gyoen. To see more of Laurenz’s photos of Japan go to travelphoto.net. Thanks again for the photo and great shot!

Ueno Park (Ueno Koen), along with Yoyogi Park, are the two most famous parks in Tokyo. Yoyogi and Ueno Park are on opposite sides of the Yamanote Line and kind of have opposite personalities, for example Yoyogi is most famous for it’s ginko trees which turn golden in the fall and Ueno for it’s cherry blossom (sakura) which turn pearly white in the spring. Ueno Park right next to Ueno Station and close to Asasuka, Nippori and Akihabara. The photo below was taken at sunrise.

Both parks are very nice and each has it’s advantages. Ueno has a huge lake in the middle, a zoo (including the ever popular Giant Pandas), homeless people (but not a whole city like in Yoyogi Park), morning joggers, temples and shrines, crows and everything else you would expect from a park in Tokyo. There is no question that the best time to go there is in the spring when the cherry blossom are blooming. I actually went to Ueno park a couple days too early as you can see, only some of the blossoms are in bloom, but you can imagine if all of them were in bloom!

See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Kanazawa is located on the west coast of Japan in the Ishikawa Prefecture and is often called “Little Kyoto,” and like Kyoto has a nice mix of old Japan with modern Japan. There many old districts such old samurai and geisha districts (photo below) that have been kept in good shape throughout the years and make for nice tourists spots and nice photographs with that “Japanese” feel to them. If you have a limited amount of time, then I recommend going to Kyoto rather than Kanazawa but if you have time Kanazawa is worth checking out. When I was there for 4 days, I was lucky enough to have it rain for 3 and I still enjoyed my trip there.

Of couse, the best time to go to Kanazawa is in the Spring (cherry blossom season) or Fall (koyo leaves); however, the most famous place in Kanazawa is a garden called Kenrokuen. Kenrokuen (below, left, is the most famous latern and symbol of Kenrokuen) might be the most famous garden in all of Japan and is widely believed to be the most beautiful in Japan.

For more information see the Japan-Guide.com or the official homepage of Kanazawa City. Below is a photo outside of Kanazawa Station. From Tokyo it takes about 3.5 to 4 hours by train to get to Kanazawa.

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.

Furano and Biei are about 50 minutes apart by local train or bus but they go together like peanut butter and jelly as everyone talks about them as if they were one place. Furano and Biei are about 3 hours from Sapporo and are most famous for thier flowers (especially Lavender in Furano) and their rolling hills and trees. If you have seen photos of flower fields or empty fields and one single tree, most likely that photo was made at one of these places.

The most famous place in Furano is called Farm Tomita. The best time to go is in July when the Lavender is in full bloom. I was there in late August and there was still some flowers and lavender in bloom, but if you can, go in July.

Biei is most famous for the rolling hills and trees that have been in famous commercials. If you don’t rent a car, a good thing to do is take the “twinkle” bus. There are two different routes, the flower route and tree route. Both routes go to about 5 different locations and you can get off at some of the places for about 10 minutes to take photos and some places you just drive by. If you want more time or don’t want to be on a schedule you really should rent a car for Furano and Biei as the good places tend to be spread out.

For more information please see the Japan-Guide.com.
Here is the Official Biei Homepage.
Here is the Official Furano Homepage.

Yokohama is about 30-45 minutes by train from Tokyo making it a nice day trip from Tokyo. Yokohama has the largest Chinatown in Japan and is also one of the largest in the world. Plenty of good photo opps. and even more good food.

Yokohama’s downtown/bay skyline is still being developed and looking better and better. The skyline includes the tallest building in Japan, Landmark Tower (the tallest one in the photo below). The downtown area is known as Minato Mirai which literately means “Harbor of the Future.” This is a great spot for night photography or interesting building shots.

If you are looking to get away from the urban feel of Tokyo/Yokohama, Sankeien is a really beautiful garden you should go to.

For more information about Yokohama, please see the Japan-Guide.com.

Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture, was once the capital of Japan and is a short day trip Tokyo. Kamakura offers a very nice change of pace if you feel like you need to escape the busy streets of Tokyo. Kamakura is perhaps most famous for the Big Buddha, 2nd largest in Japan, but also has other famous temples and shrines such as Engakuji and Hachimangu.

For more information on Kamakura, please see the Japan-Guide.com or the official site of Kamakura. The photo below of the Big Buddha was take by Myriam Ward.