Japan Photo Guide

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.

Onuma Koen is a Quasi National Park and as a result feels a little touristy, even for a place in Japan; however, that being said, it still may be worth your time to check it out. When I went there the weather was very cloudy which was very disappointing because one of the best parts about Onuma Koen the spectacular view of Mount Komagatake. To be honest, if the weather is not so good, you could make the same photographs at almost any lake/nature area. Onuma Koen is about a 2 hour train ride from Sapporo and only about 20 minutes from Hakodate.

If the weather is nice I can see this place being really beautiful and also it is a place where a car or at least renting a bike would be really convenient since the lake is really too big to walk around. Also, if you are so interested, water activities such as fishing, paddle boats, and taking a boat tour are available. For more information, check out the official site of Onuma Koen or 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.

Roppongi Hills Tower is a very modern complex and buildings with everything from (upscale) shops to offices to apartments to restaurants to an art museum. Think of it as an upscale, modern city within Tokyo. It is connected to Roppongi Subway Station and is within walking distance of all the nightlife of the vastly different area known as Roppongi.

Roppongi Hills is a must see if you are visiting Tokyo. I recommend going in the afternoon, walking around the outside and then going up to the tower to see the view of Tokyo (and beyond) just before sunset. On a clear day you can even see Mt. Fuji (see the photo below). Also the art museum is on the top floors of the tower. On another side note, the movie theater has a great discount for foreigners and tickets are only 1000 yen which is almost half price for movie tickets in Japan.

Below on the left is a huge sculpture of a spider. This spider is a popular place to meet and wait for people at Roppongi Hills. On the right, one day I went to Roppongi Hills and I just happened to be there at the same time as a festival parade was passing by Roppongi Hills. The shrine they are carrying is called Mitsukoshi. This style of carrying a shrine in a parade like fashion is a very common for festivals throughout Japan.

For more information see the official site of Roppongi Hills.

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.

Amanohashidate is considered to be one the 3 most scenic views of Japan. Located in Kyoto Prefecture, about 2 hours from the city of Kyoto, it is kind of out of the way of most travel plans. If you have ample time, it is worth checking out, but to be honest, if you have limited time you are better off in Kyoto, Nara or IMHO even Himeji Castle.

Amanohashidate means “bridge to heaven,” and it is said that if you go up to either one of the hills that overlooks the 3.6km long sandbar covered with pine trees, that it looks like a bridge leading to heaven. Both hilltops can be accessed by cable car and have nice views (assuming it isn’t cloudy like the day I went). The sandbar takes about 45 minutes to walk from end to end and makes for a nice walk.

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

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