Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Tokyo and Cooking Experience

Aug 10 | Evan | No Comments |

If my previous private and custom tour of Japan was a photography and foodie tour of Japan, my next private tour of Japan was a photography and hiking tour of Japan!  I say hiking tour of Japan because we probably walked between 15km – 18km a day as it was Mike’s preference to walk whenever possible!  To be honest though, it’s not uncommon for us to walk around 10km per day in a normal tour, so we are always walking a lot in Japan, but we walked a little more in this photo tour of Japan!

We started out with a short stay in Tokyo and explored a lot of the popular spots like Shibuya, Harajuku, Akihabara, Ueno and so on, but also I arranged for Mike to have a private cooking lesson with a chef in her home.  I strongly believe that trying the food of Japan and meeting locals are very important for experiencing Japan, so a cooking lesson with a Japanese chef in her home is a great cultural experience!

Mike and Chef Yuca prepared about 5 different dishes representing a typical meal a family might have on any given night in Japan, including one of my favorites, gyoza, a Japanese version of a Chinese dumpling.  I’m always sad to leave Tokyo, but our hiking and photography tour of Japan would continue on to one of my favorite places in Japan, Kamikochi!

Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Hiroshima and Miyajima

Aug 05 | Evan | No Comments |

Even with the hot Summer weather in Japan, the private tour of Japan was going great!  We were eating too much food but walking almost cancel out all the Japanese food and sweets…. Well, at least walking enough around to make it worth eating all the food!  Miyajima, a small island off the coast of Hiroshima, is one of my favorite places in Japan to visit.  Miyajima is famous for the (sometimes) floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine and the “wild” deer that roam free on Miyajima.

As you can see from my photo of the torii gate at the top of this post though, even when the tide is out enough to walk up to the torii gate, interesting photos can still be made!  Besides Itsukushima Shrine and the deer, there are lot’s of photogenic places around Miyajima that vary with the season.  I particuallary like finding scenic spots of the 5 story pagoda as you may have noticed from some of my previous reports of Miyajima photography tours!

The photos below were created by and courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography. Check out Isabelle’s blog post for more of her photos and her report on our time in Hiroshima and Miyajima.

Created by and Courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography

Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Maiko Portrait Session in Kyoto

Aug 04 | Evan | No Comments |

Just another day of taking portraits in Kyoto!  Sometimes I have to take a step back and really appreciate these special portrait sessions in Kyoto as after developing a relationship with a tea house in Kyoto, portrait sessions with a maiko have become a special experience that I’ve been able to offer on almost all my recent photography tours of Kyoto.  Taking portraits of a real maiko is always one of the highlights of the tour and an unforgettable experience!

  

 

This portrait session was on a moderately hot Summer day in Kyoto.  You wouldn’t know it by the sunny weather we had, but it was also in the middle of the rainy season in Kyoto.  This means that we had a lot of green to work with!   Her beautiful purple kimono looked fantastic with all the green, green and more green!

 

We got lucky at our portrait location in Kyoto as the temple was actually undergoing a little renovation.  Between the renovation and being a little away from central Kyoto, we had the entire place to ourselves to take portraits.

It was also really nice for Isabelle to take portraits of her and chat with her a bit as they are very similar in age but lives they lead are so drastically different!  After the first two photos below of the two girls together, there are a few portraits created by and courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography.

Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Himeji Castle and Wedding

Aug 03 | Evan | No Comments |

The private photography and foodie tour of Japan was going along with great weather and after seeing and eating so much in Kyoto, we decided to take a day trip to Himeji to see the famous Himeji Castle.  Himeji Castle is considered by most to be the most spectacular castle in Japan and also one of the best cherry blossom spots in Japan.

Every since finishing the renovation, Himeji Castle has been more crowded than ever, even on this random Summer day with very hot  and overcast weather, there was no ends to the crowds visiting Himeji Castle.  After visiting the castle grounds and going inside the main keep for a bit, we entered Koko-en Garden, next to Himeji Castle.  A very nice strolling garden to walk through though would love to come back here during the Fall for maple season!

After the Koko-en Garden, I guided mom and daughter to a few other spots for scenic views of Himeji Castle.  Actually, none of the photos of mine in this post were taken on Himeji Castle grounds.  Like Mt. Fuji, I think Himeji Castle is best viewed from afar! Along the way to check out some spots to photograph Himeji Castle from, we had great timing as a couple had just been married and leaving the procession line while the crowd was throwing paper cranes.  With our long lenses we were able to take a few great shots, including this spectacular capture below by Isabelle!  I tried to take credit for the perfect timing but really was just another case of right time and right place!  All the photos below are courtesy of  and created by Isabelle Nazha Photography.

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