Japan Photo Guide

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 »

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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Hiroshima City is the largest city in the Chugoku Region of Japan. After the war, it was rebuilt as a “peace memorial city.” Hiroshima is a nice city and fairly easy to navigate. Among other things, the Peace Park–which includes and the A-Bomb Dome (below), Peace Memorial Museum and more–is good place to take some photographs but also to learn about the history of Hiroshima and the after effects of the bomb.

Also Miyajima, one of Japan’s 3 most scenic views, is just a short ferry ride away. If you plan on visiting Miyajima, a lot of people stay in Hiroshima for the night and visit Miyajima the next day because Hiroshima has much more of a nightlife, restaurants, cheaper places to stay and more things to do; however if you are a photographer I recommend staying the night in Miyajima. While it is a little more expensive and there is no nightlife, you will find it really nice before and after all the tourists leave the island.

For more information, please see the Japan-Guide.com or here is the official Hiroshima City website.

Welcome and thanks for stopping by! BahBeeBooBayBohDOTcom, or Japan Photo Guide, was created in July of 2006 when I, as a phototographer, decided there wasn’t enough information about places to travel to in Japan in English. Of course with the more popular places like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima there are plenty of photos and information in English but for some of the more remote places sometimes it is hard to find information and photos. It is my goal, by showing you pictures of Japan to provide a guide to Japan for not only photographers but also regular travelers. This site is fairly new and I do update Japan Photo Guide as often as possible but I do so as my hobby, not my job. If you have advice to offer about traveling in Japan or photography in Japan or even just like my photos of japan, please leave a comment or contact me about being a contributer!

*NEW* I have started to add Tips and Tricks about travel photograpy, so be sure to check them out!

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.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated–and confirmed–for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

The programme aims to catalogue, name, and preserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humankind. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. Since then, 182 state parties (countries) have ratified the convention.

As of 2005, a total of 812 sites are listed: 628 cultural, 160 natural, and 24 mixed properties, in 137 state parties. UNESCO references each World Heritage Site with a unique identification number; but new inscriptions often include previous sites now listed as part of larger descriptions. As a result, the numbering system currently ends above 1100, even though there are fewer on the actual list.

Each World Heritage Site is the property of the country on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site for future generations of humankind. The protection and conservation of these sites are a concern of all the World Heritage countries.

Please see the Wikipedia for more information or see the Japan-Guide.com for a complete list of sites in Japan.

The Chugoku region consists of the following prefectures: Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane and Tottori. Okayama is commonly included, although only Bitchu Province was considered a Middle Country, Mimasaka Province and Bizen Province, the other two components of modern-day Okayama, were considered Near Countries. The Chugoku region is characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by mountains running east and west through its center. The city of Hiroshima, the “capital” of the Chugoku region, was rebuilt after being destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, and is now an industrial metropolis of more than one million people.

Here are some places worth photographing/seeing.

–Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroshima, Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima)
–Yamaguchi Prefecture: Iwakuni, Hofu, Shimonoseki, Hagi
–Shimane Prefecture: Tsuwano, Izumo, Matsue

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