Japan Photo Guide

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.

Lake Toya (Toyako in Japanese), is part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park and is about an hour and half from Sapporo by train. Lake Toya is really famous for hot springs and also is home to Japan’s most recently active volcano, Mount Usu, which last erupted in 2000. On a nice day, Lake Toya offers a spectacular view of the lake and the islands in the middle of it, but like most of the rest of my trip to Hokkaido, the weather was once again cloudy. The lake is pretty large so I recommend renting a car or bike as public transportation is not so frequent. For the best views of the lake and surrounding area check out Mt. Usu Ropeway.

There are a few nice things about Lake Toya that I really liked. For one, there are all these (sometimes) interesting sculptures all around the lake (as you can see above). Second, every night in the summer there is a small festival at night where there are fireworks over the lake and also a small traditional dance and taiko drums. Also if you are into outdoor activities there is plenty of hiking, fishing, camping, boating and other water activities available.

For more information please see Japan-Guide.com.

Hakodate is the 3rd largest city in Hokkaido and is at the southern tip of Japan’s largest island, about 3 hours by train from Sapporo. Hakodate is most famous for the spectacular night view it has to offer of the city and Tsugaru Strait from Mount Hakodate (334 meters). I was there for two days but only one night and at night it was too cloudy to see anything from the mountain, but here is the view during the day time when it was still a little cloudy. You can take a rope way up to the top, take one of the many mountain paths or you can drive/taxi. For more information about the ropeway, here is the homepage of Mt. Hakodate Ropeway.

Besides the view it is also famous for some old western style buildings. To me they are not that interesting because I am from the west, but maybe you are more interested in them than I am. I was told before I went that sometimes Hakodate feels a little like a ghost town and while I wouldn’t go as far to agree with that, I can understand why one might get that impression as there didn’t seem to be much going on when I was there. Also if you are a fan of seafood, Hakodate’s Morning Market is a great place to enjoy fresh fish and seafood in the morning. Below are some of the western style buildings.

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

The Fuji Five Lakes are located at the base of Mount Fuji and weather permitting, offer fabulous views of Mount Fuji. When I went it was really cloudy and I could not see Mount Fuji from the lakes, the area is still nice enough to find other things to take photos of. The photo below is taken from Itchiku Kubota’s Kimono Museum which is close to Kawaguchiko (the biggest of the lakes). Besides having beautiful kimonos the landscape and design of the museum is just amazingly beautiful, especially in the fall.

If you want to climb Mount Fuji, it is not a bad idea to stay here the day before as Fuji Five Lakes (Fujigoko) is a good place to start the climb. Also camping, hiking and fishing are other popular outdoor activities here. If you can, fall or cherry blossom season is the best time to visit the five lakes, but if you want to climb Mount fuji, the climbing season is from June-August.

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

Hakone is close to Mount Fuji and about 100 km away from Tokyo. Hakone is perhaps most famous for the hot springs but also offers great views of Mount Fuji and outdoor activities such as camping and hiking.

One of my favorite places in Hakone is the Open Air Museum, where the above photo was taken. This outdoor museum displays lots of modern, abstract and interesting artwork in the surrounding grounds with mountains, vallies and the ocean as the backdrops. I highly reccomend checking this place out if you make it to Hakone.
For more information 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.

Mt. Fuji (or Fuji-san) is Japan’s tallest (3776 meters) and most famous mountain and is perhaps the most symbolic image of Japan. Fuji-san has been popular among artists as long as art has been in Japan. Mt. Fuji is a dormant volcano which has been so since the early 1700s.

On a clear day (which isn’t often) you can see Fuji-san from some places in Tokyo, like Roppongi Hills Tower, or Yokohama. Also while taking the shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, after about 30 minutes from leaving Tokyo you will get a nice view of Japan’s most sacred mountain.If you want to get a little closer I recommend stopping by Hakone or the Fuji Five Lakes (Fujigoko). Climbing season is during the summer months of July and August. If you want to avoid the crowds you should go on a weekday around the middle of July, when Japanese schools are still in session and before the summer holidays. The photo below was taken from the 5th stage of Mt. Fuji looking away from the summit.

Interested in climbing Mount Fuji? That is one of the things I have on my list of things to do before leaving Japan. To be honest, I know close to nothing about this (other than the peak season is July and August. If you want to climb Mt. Fuji, Japan-Guide.com has a climbing guide to Mt. Fuji, which seems like a good place to start.

Miyajima is considered to be one of the 3 most scenic places in Japan, and in my opinion, of the famous 3, Miyajima is the best place for a photographer. To be fair it is also the most diverse having everything from Itsukushima Shrine (the tori gate that is floating in the ocean) to it’s own mountain… with monkeys that live on the top. Who doesn’t like monkeys? I mean really?

Also it should be noted that deer walk around the island like they own the place. I went during cherry blossom season and it was really beautiful, but Miyajima is worth going to at anytime of the year. Also I was surprised that sometimes the floating tori gate, isn’t floating. All the famous photos you see of it are when the tide is in, but when the tide goes out you can walk up right next to (or search for clams like some people do).

Miyajima is about 20 minutes to one hour away from Hiroshima by boat–depending on which boat and from where you leave. Be sure to check ferry schedules going both ways before you go, if you miss the last ferry there are not too many places to stay (they can also be a little expensive) and during peak travel season you may end up without a place to stay!For more access information see the Japan-guide.com.

Also here is the official site of Miyajima.