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.

Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Kyoto

Aug 02 | Evan | No Comments |

After meeting in Tokyo and spending a few days in Kanazawa our private tour of Japan headed to my favorite city in Japan, Kyoto! With it’s mix of modern and tradition, along with what seems like an endless supply of beautiful gardens, shrines and temples, Kyoto is a photographer’s dream. Kyoto is also great for a foodie tour, which this guided tour of Japan was kind of turning into along with the photography aspect!

During the tour of Kyoto we visited as far west as Arashiyama for the bamboo grove and Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera), as far north west as Kamigamo Jinja and north east as Sanzenin and as far south as Fushi Inari Shrine. Of course we visited lots of other places in the center of Kyoto and east side of Kyoto as well! Eating lot’s of delicious food along the way and with a few special experiences arranged for the tour of Kyoto.

Meeting and making Japanese friends is part of my tours that I always try and encourage. After all, the people of Japan are certainly part of what makes Japan such a great place to visit! I arranged for a ikebana (flower arrangement) demonstration, calligraphy lesson, tea ceremony with an English speaking maiko and also a portrait session with a maiko in Kyoto. More on the portrait session with a maiko in Kyoto coming later as that will get it’s own blog post!

As with most of my trips to Kyoto, visiting Fushimi Inari Shrine and the bamboo groves of Arashiyama early in the morning provide the best chance of great photographic opportunity. Not only because of the obvious better light earlier in the morning but also because these places just get too crowded during the day, or really even from 8am or perhaps a little earlier!

Instead of sharing more of my photos, I wanted to share more of Isabelle’s awesome photos from our time touring and exploring Kyoto!  All the photos below were created by and courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography.  Also, be sure to check out her detailed report of our trip to Kyoto from her blog!

Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Kanazawa

Jul 27 | Evan | No Comments |

Summer may not be considered the best time to visit Japan with all the heat and humidity but Summer is when many have vacation from school! Just because Summer isn’t cherry blossom or fall leaves season doesn’t mean that Japan isn’t beautiful and a great place to visit in the Summer. I spent most of month of June and part of July in Japan, during the “rainy” season but in 30+ days with a schedule of Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Kamikochi, Shirakawago, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto and finally Tokyo again, I only had a handful of days (maybe 3 or 4) where rain was a disturbance. Not bad at all and because Japan is humid with rain in the Summer, everything is a beautiful shade of green!

Looking at my schedule above, perhaps you could tell that I had 3 guided tours of Japan lined up back to back to back! The first two were small custom and private tours of Japan and final tour was a small group from a school in North Carolina visiting Japan. I didn’t plan it this way, but first had a single private tour of Japan for the middle/end of June and suddenly the other two guided tours of Japan fell into place!

The first guided tour of Japan for the Summer was for a mother and daughter, Ellie and Isabelle. Isabelle just graduated high school and is a fantastic budding photographer, well ahead of my time when I was her age! I will be sharing a few of her great photos here but also be sure to check out the video she made from our trip together in Japan on the testimonial page! Back to the tour’s first stop in Kanazawa though!

Of course we stopped by one of the most famous garden’s in Japan, Kenrokuen and then across the street to Kanazawa Castle Park, and also had the chance to stop by the DT Suzuki Museum, Higashi Chaya (old geisha district), Nagamachi (old samurai district) and even a gold leaf workshop in Kanazawa. Kanazawa is famous for arts and crafts, but almost all gold leaf in Japan comes from Kanazawa. It was really interesting to see and learn how gold leaf is made in Kanazawa.

Of course along the way, we were eating lot’s of delicious food along the way and quickly found out that the two women shared similar tastes as me when it comes to food and desert! There aren’t too many times when I have patience to take photos of my food in Japan before eating it, so you will just have to take my word for it! The photos below are all created by and courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography during our days in Kanazawa. Check out Isabelle’s blog post about Kanazawa for more.

2016 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan | Fuji Five Lakes

Jun 01 | Evan | No Comments |

Mt. Fuji as a reputation for being really shy, especially while visiting the Fuji Five Lakes outside of Winter.  For the 2016 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour of Japan, Mt. Fuji was operating about half of our photographer sessions in the Fuji Five Lake area.  Our hotel was at Lake Kawaguchi (where the photo above was taken from) but we spent the first sunset by Lake Yamanaka.  We got just a touch of color with a slightly hazy Mt. Fuji, but all things considered, our first photo session with the shy mountain didn’t go so bad!  The next morning, after nothing much happening at Lake Tanuki (not one of the Fuji Five Lakes, but very nice place) we stopped by Shiraito Falls.

For whatever reason, Lake Shoji has always been good luck for me as you might recognize that the 2015 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour made some fantastic photos of Mt. Fuji from the shores of Lake Shoji last year.  This year was similar as we had great a nice sunrise and mostly still water making for a great reflection of Mt. Fuji.

Photo created by and courtesy of Mami Yasui

As you can see, we had quite a few nice photos from Lake Shoji!  Our group of photographers stayed at Shojiko quite a while both making photographs and just enjoying the view.  Too bad didn’t have weather like this for all the times our group went out to photograph Mt Fuji.

By the end of our staying the Fuji Five Lakes area, the cherry blossoms around Kawaguchiko were starting to approach full bloom.  One day was a little gloomy and quite windy, the next morning, clear sky and light wind making for some great reflections!   The photo at the top of this post is my current desktop on all my computers and a vertical crop of it on my iPhone.

Our last morning of the 2016 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan at the Fuji Five Lakes was mostly cloudy but we still went out anyway hoping for something, or rather anything!  We went out to Lake Saiko in hopes of being able to see and photograph Mt. Fuji one more time.  To our surprise, when arriving at Lake Saiko, we could see most of the Mt. Fuji.  While the clouds cooperated for a while, they covered Mt. Fuji just as the sun was coming up and color was starting to enter the sky.  We were still able to make some interesting photos of Mt. Fuji for our last photo day of the tour!

With Tokyo, Hiroshima, Miyajima and Himeji Castle  and Kyoto already visited, next up for the 2016 cherry blossom tour was the Fuji Five Lakes to photography Mt. Fuji along with some cherry blossoms. Our photo tour of Japan ended here but yours can start just around the corner!  Interested in joining the 2017 cherry blossom tour?  Please contact me today to start your trip to Japan during cherry blossom season or any other time you’d like!

By the way, I quite like the first photo in this post of Kawguchiko and Mt Fuji when it’s flipped upside… maybe even more that the right way up?

 

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