Photo Tour of Japan | Golden Pavilion

Apr 10 | Evan | No Comments |

In the Northwest of Kyoto you can find quite a few interesting temples and shrines, including a few that are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites like Ryoanji, Ninnanji and this one Kinkakuji.   Or in English, The Golden Pavilion.  Perhaps one of the most iconic symbols of Kyoto, and maybe Japan, The Golden Pavilion is beautiful and certainly worth visiting.  I’ve always found the light a little better in the morning and the pond always seems to be stiller as we well in the morning hours.  That being said, you cannot enter the grounds until 9am, so depending on the time of year you are in Kyoto, it already may be too late for nice light.  I’ve also found that if you go right when it opens, there will usually be a school tour bus or two waiting there with you.  Once they leave you could have some time to yourself, but depending on the time of year, it could be nonstop crowds.  The Golden Pavilion does have a non tripod policy and is very strict about it.  When you see the crowds, you will understand why!

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More from this photo tour of Japan is coming soon!  Here is the list of the places we visited and photographed in Japan.

Interested in your own custom photo tour and experiences in Japan?  Contact Japan Photo Guide today to start your adventure!

Photo Tour of Japan | Kokedera, The Moss Garden Temple in Kyoto

Mar 16 | Evan | No Comments |

Kokedera is one of my favorite places in Kyoto.  The Moss Garden Temple, aka Kokedera or Saiho-ji, is on the outskirts of Kyoto and you not only do you have to make reservation far in advance by mail, the entry fee is 3,000 yen per person.  Even though you do need a reservation for the Moss Garden Temple and that the entrance fee isn’t cheap, I can highly recommend Kokedera, especially during when the leaves are changing colors!  To make a reservation, you need to send a special kind of postcard available in Japan called “ofuku hagaki” and include how many are in your group, preferred date(s) of visiting as well as a self addressed and stamped return postcard.  You must make a reservation for Kokedera at least 7 days in advance but I recommend a month or more if you are going during peak season.  Saiho-ji starts to accept reservations two months before your intended date of visiting the temple.  If you want, I do provide the reservation service for Kokedera for $15 USD, please contact me for details.

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Accessing Kokedera is not as easy as other sites in Kyoto, but again, it is worth making the extra effort to get there!  I recommend combining it with Arashiyama in the morning and having a early lunch at one of the many places close to Togetsukyo Bridge area before taking a short taxi ride to Kokedera.  The Moss Garden Temple only opens to the public once per day, so your session will start at 1pm but you should be there at least 15 minutes early.  When you arrive, you are invited to take place in a short service and sutra writing/chanting.  For non Japanese, a paper is offered with the characters on them already so you can trace the sutra.   You can do as much (or little as you like) of the writing, and after the service are free to explore the beautiful temple grounds.   Even though tripods are not allowed and the lighting during the middle of the day isn’t the best, you can still make some beautiful photos at Saiho-ji.  Below are a few more photos or you can also take a look here for more Kokedera Photos.

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More from this photo tour of Japan is coming soon!  Here is the list of the places we visited and photographed in Japan.

Interested in your own custom photo tour and experiences in Japan?  Contact Japan Photo Guide today to start your adventure!

Photo Tour of Japan | Shirogane Falls

Mar 01 | Evan | No Comments |

There are not too many hotel choices close to the Blue Pond and in the Shirogane Onsen area, but the hotel we stayed at, Shirogane Park Hills, is just a minutes walk away from a bridge overlooking Shirogane Falls.  This is great for rolling out of bed early in the morning and seeing if the weather/light is worth it to take some photos, otherwise you can just go back to bed!  If the weather is clear, and you have a wide enough lens, you can get the waterfall and the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park in the background.

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While our timing was pretty good with autumn leaves, I wish the mountains had some snow on them but we were a little too early for the first snow of the season for Daisetsuzan National Park.  I’m not sure if I would drive all the way from Asahikawa or even Biei just for Shirogane Falls, but since it is so close to Blue Pond, maybe 5 – 10 minutes by car, it is certainly worth it!

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More from this photo tour of Japan is coming soon!  Here is the list of the places we visited and photographed in Japan.

Interested in your own custom photo tour and experiences in Japan?  Contact Japan Photo Guide today to start your adventure!

Photo Tour of Japan | Blue Pond

Feb 22 | Evan | No Comments |

If you have a Mac, there is a good chance you have seen Blue Pond or Aoi Ikke before as it is one of the National Geographic photos is a desktop photo that comes with Mac OS.  While I would love to visit this lake and Hokkaido in the Winter, we were visiting the Shirogane Onsen area in the fall.  While technically it is in Biei, the Blue Pond is about an hour drive from Asahikawa and about 2 hours from Sounkyo Onsen.  Whether you are coming from Sounkyo, Asahikawa or even Sapporo, I would recommend adding Aoi Ikke to your itinerary for Hokkaido!

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That being said, finding information about the Blue Pond in English, might prove to be a little harder than you would think!  If you have time, I would recommend first stoping at the information center before making your way to Blue Pond as they can provide a map of the area that is helpful for exploring, hiking and just finding your way around.  Here is the a link to the google map where the Blue Pond is located.  There is no opening or closing time, so you can go as early in the morning you want to wait for that great morning light.  On a clear day, you can also see the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park.

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More from this photo tour of Japan is coming soon!  Here is the list of the places we visited and photographed in Japan.

Interested in your own custom photo tour and experiences in Japan?  Contact Japan Photo Guide today to start your adventure!

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