Japan Photo Guide

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.

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo‘s 23 wards and is a huge entertainment, shopping, business and (some) government district. Basically Shinjuku is a city within itself but is really just a (big) fraction of Tokyo. Shinjuku is very famous and has been in many movies including most recently “Lost in Translation” and “Kill Bill.” Shinjuku always seems busy no matter what time of day you go there and Shinjuku Station, is one of, if not the busiest station in the world. Shinjuku has a lot of really cool and large buildings (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, for one which offers great views of Tokyo) as well as a lot of people, shops and restaurants.

If you go late at night it is not uncommon to see drunk, passed out salary men sleeping on the streets or friends carrying another friend who is too drunk to walk. I recommend going, but do be careful if you wander into Kabukicho, the entertainment, drinking, adult and red light district, which has a lot of ties with the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia). In general, this area is fairly safe compared to the rest of the world, but compared to the rest of Japan it is a little unsafe. That being said, just don’t go picking fights with anyone and you should be fine.

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

Harajuku, recently made even more famous by the Gwen Steffani song, “Harajuku Girls,” is the famous young, hip and sometimes gothic, shopping district of Tokyo. Harajuku can easily be accesed by the Yamanote Train Line and is close to Shibuya and Shinjuku, but each place has a different feeling to it. This place is known for style (good and bad depending on who you are asking). As a photographer, the best time to go is on Sundays when Harajuku is most crowded with all types of people but especially the goth society or “lolita” style comes out in full force.

Above is the entrance to the main shopping street across from Harajuku Station. As you can see, this place gets a little crowded. Also Harajuku is within walking distance of the famous, upscale and designer shopping area Omontesando. For more information, check out the Japan-Guide.com.