Japan Photo Tour – Social, architectural and cultural photography

The Photographic Trip to Japan, from November 18th to December 2nd, 2020, is another of our star bets for 2020. One of the most dreamed destinations by photographers from around the world that will offer us unique and unique images of their culture, Architecture and nature In short, a complete trip that will take us into this millenary culture and that offers us some unforgettable images during the Sakura (cherry blossom during spring).

Within this extraordinary 15-day photographic journey, we will photograph as iconic places as Mount Fuji or “the snow monkeys” while taking baths in the hot springs of Nagano. We will also visit fantastic cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, or the spectacular Arashiyama forest where we will immerse ourselves in endless bamboo landscapes.

In addition, this photographic trip to Japan is one of our photographic trips with a greater social component. In each of our destinations, we can photograph local people doing their routine tasks. From the busy modern life in Tokyo, to historic cities like Shirakawa-go or Kayosan where we will join the life of a Buddhist temple in our accommodation.

A destination with so many possibilities facilitates the realization of a really complete program, and that will take us to the maximum from the first moment, until practically the last day, before moving to the airport to undertake the return home.

Among the many sessions that we will carry out, the sunrises and sunsets that we will spend photographing some of the most spectacular temples in Japan stand out. We can also highlight our visits to the incredible nature of the island. But, in addition, we will spend many moments capturing portraits in the markets or in the street stalls of the cities that we will visit during the tour.

So that you can have the maximum and best possibilities of obtaining great images, we have prepared this Photo Trip to Japan with the highest level of detail. Therefore, you can enjoy almost constant photographic possibilities during each of the days of our stay in this beautiful country.

In short, we talk about a very special opportunity to visit and photograph a country as full of contrasts and beauty as Japan, join our Photographic Trip and be one of the lucky ones who can enjoy an unforgettable experience.

Day 1

Arrival to Tokyo. Group meeting and start of the trip.

Depending on the arrival time, we will visit the Scramble Kousaten crossing in the Shibuya neighborhood, known as the Times Square in Tokyo.

Night at our Tokyo hotel.

Day 2

We will get up early to visit the Sensō-jico temple overlooking the Tokyo tower during sunrise. From there we will walk around, touring the Asakusa District, one of the traditional neighborhoods of Tokyo where we can enter and photograph the typical streets of small Japanese restaurants. We will also have the possibility to photograph the Tokyo Skytree, one of the highest towers in the city and from where we will have a panoramic view of it.
In the afternoon we will approach Odaiba, from where we will have views of the Tokyo skyline and we can take spectacular photographs at sunset.

Day 3

In the morning we will approach the Shiba Park, located next to the Zojoji temple and the Tokio tower where we can take pictures of its buildings and cherry blossoms at sunrise and throughout the morning. We will walk to the Roppongi area to eat.

In the afternoon we will visit the Meiji Shrine until sunset that we will approach but we could visit it the first day at the junction of Scramble Kousaten, where we will have dinner before leaving to Lake Motosuko, near Mount Fuji where we will spend the night.

Day 4

Mount Fuji

We will get up early to photograph one of the most emblematic places of our trip: Mount Fuji

We will visit the surroundings of this impressive volcano, from the incredible views that the area known as the 5 lakes will give us, which in spring shows its maximum splendor with the cherry blossoms that surround these lakes. In the morning we will visit the Fuji Shibazakura Festival, which will offer us spectacular views with its more than 800,000 shibazakura flowers. In the afternoon we will approach the Chureito Pagoda, from where we can see Mount Fuji and the cherry fields with the temple in the foreground at sunset. Once our session is over we will travel to Yudanaka where we will spend the night.

Day 5

Snow monkeys

After having rested and without the need to get up too early we will approach the Jogokudani park, where we can observe the 200 wild snow monkeys that live in this park, taking baths in the park’s hot springs.

In the afternoon we will continue our route to the south of Japan, stopping in the incredible village of Shirakawa-go, located in what is known as the Japanese Alps. After photographing it at sunset from the surroundings, we will rest at the hotel in Kanazawa.

Day 6
Shirakawa-go

We will return to get up early to photograph this beautiful town with the first rays of the sun and visit its traditional houses among the cherry blossoms. At noon we will undertake our trip again to arrive at our next destination: Hikone.

In the afternoon already in Hikone, we will have time to visit at sunset its impressive castle as well as the surrounding gardens. Once our session is over we will continue our trip to Kyoto.

Day 7
Kioto

We will begin our visit in the morning at Nijo Castle, one of the most spectacular buildings in Kyoto. We will also walk through the incredible Japanese gardens of Ninomaru. Once the visit is over, we will approach the Nishiki market to eat and photograph this busy Japanese market.

In the afternoon, we will approach one of the most incredible neighborhoods of our entire trip: Gion. Known as the neighborhood of the geisha that we can photograph with their typical costumes the geisha walking between old wooden houses and traditional merchant shops of yesteryear. Also in this neighborhood we will have the possibility to visit the Hokanji temple and get one of the most incredible photographs of our trip in the streets of the Gion neighborhood with the Kiyomizu-deraal Pagoda in the background at sunset.

Day 8

Kioto

Today we will get up early to get to Fushimi Inari before dawn and for all tourists to flood this iconic place. We will walk through its more than 10,000 torii at dawn always looking for the best compositions and we will take advantage of the morning to visit this sacred mountain.

In the afternoon we will approach the To-ji temple, an ancient Buddhist temple that has the highest 5-story pagoda in all of Japan and where we will wait for the sunset to get some spectacular photos of the cherry blossoms that surround this incredible temple.

We will return to the hotel early to rest and prepare for the next day.

Día 9

Kioto

We will get back early to arrive before dawn to the bamboo forest of Arashiyama. We will look for the best location to be prepared when the first rays of sun enter this incredible forest. Once our session is finished, we will visit the nearby gardens of Okochi Denjiro and the temples of Tenryuji and Nonomiya near the forest.

At noon after lunch, we will visit a street less well known but that maintains the traditional houses of ancient Kyoto. In the afternoon we will approach another of the most visited points of the city such as the Golden Pavilion, where we can photograph its incredible castle at sunset.

At night, if the forces accompany us we can approach the temple of Yasaka Jinja, which is open for night photography. When we finish we will approach Osaka to rest in our new destination.

Day 10

Osaka

In the morning we will get up early to visit the Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine, where we can photograph its more than 700 wooden lamps in this sanctuary that is more than 1800 years old.

In the afternoon we will approach the castle of Osaka, one of the most spectacular in the whole country and that during the Sakura offers unrepeatable views.

In the evening we will visit the area of Dōtonboridonde, in addition to restoring forces while having dinner, we can photograph their famous neons in one of the busiest streets in the city.

Day 11

Himeji

This day we will take it more calmly in the morning to regain strength of our trip. At noon we will arrive in Himeji to stroll through the Koko-en gardens near the impressive Himeji Castle. In which we will wait until sunset to photograph it in its maximum splendor. At night we will return to Osaka to rest.

Day 12

Nara

We will get up early to visit the city of Nara. Famous for the deer that walk through its streets, and that also retains the traditional Japanese style in its architecture. There we will visit the temples of Kofukuji and Horyuji, the first one was moved more than 1000 years ago from Kyoto and the second is the oldest wooden temple in the world.

After lunch, we will visit Mount Yoshino, where we will have one of the most spectacular views of our trip with the Nara Mountains full of cherry blossoms and that during the sunset they will leave us some spectacular images to photograph.

At the end of our session we will go to our next destination in Koyasan where we will stay in a shukubo, a Buddhist temple that will offer us a unique experience. There they will be waiting for us to offer us a shojin ryōri-style dinner that is typical of Mount Koya. After dinner we can take a bath or onsen, and even take a night walk through the temple.

Day 13

Koyasan

The day will begin at dawn, when the Buddhist monks wake us up to join their Otsutome ceremony, two hours where we can photograph them while lighting a bonfire and reciting sutras. Once the ritual is over, they will offer us a typical breakfast to start the day with strength. We will use the day to visit the infinity of monuments and temples of Mount Koya, where the Danjo Garan and, especially, the Kondo hall, the Fear hall, the Fudodo hall, the Konpon Daito vermellón pagoda and the small Toto pagoda stand out.

In the afternoon we will begin our trip back to the north to get to the night of Nagoya.

Day 14

Kiso Valley

After having rested, we will begin our walk through the Kiso Valley in the town of Magome, the first of the towns we will visit from the old Nakasendo route that went from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto. Magome and especially Tsumago, the second town we will visit, were two main resting points on this route between the main Japanese cities. With industrialization, this route was virtually abandoned leaving these villages standing in time. Which will allow us to photograph the most traditional and best preserved rural Japan of our entire trip. The route that we will make on foot between both villages, runs between full nature and in it we can photograph in addition to the typical architecture, waterfalls and spectacular mountainous landscapes. Once our route is finished, we will continue our trip to Tokyo, where we will arrive to rest before embarking on our return flight the next day.

Day 15

Vuelo de regreso

Transfer to Tokyo airport and end of the photographic trip to Japan. Flight back home.