Photo Tour of Japan | Furepe Waterfall

Jan 27 | Evan | No Comments |

Furepe Waterfall is part of Shiretoko National Park on the south west side of the Shiretoko Peninsula. It is fairly easy to access as you park at the Shiretoko National Park Nature Center and then take a short 2km walk/hike to the waterfall. The hike itself is actually quite pleasant and like with the Shiretoko Five Lakes, can offer spectacular views of the Shiretoko Mountain Range before arriving at the waterfall. Like most of Hokkaido and especially the Shiretoko area, bears and other wildlife could be around.

furepe-waterfall-007

I went to Furepe Falls twice, once in the summer and once in the fall. The flow of water was much stronger in the summer but in the fall we got to see a family of deer that seemed to be quite comfortable as models for the camera!

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

Shiretoko Five Lakes
Shiretoko Pass
Utoro Sunsets
Furepe Waterfall – You are here!
Oshinkoshin Waterfall
Lake Akan
Lake Mashu
Lake Onneto
Sounkyo Onsen
Kamikawa Angus Farm
Ginga Waterfall
Lake Daisetsuko
Sounkyo Ropeway
Oobako
Blue Pond (Aoi Ikke)
Shirogane Falls
Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera)
Bamboo Forrest in Arashiyama
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
Nanzenji
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Portrait session with models in kimonos

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

Photo Tour of Japan | Utoro Sunsets

Jan 24 | Evan | No Comments |

As the 2013 fall Japan Photo Guide tour was exploring the Shiretoko Peninsula and Shiretoko National Park, instead of camping in the wilderness, we were staying the the town of Utoro just outside of Shiretoko National Park. The Shiretoko Peninsula has quite a few places that are great for viewing the sunset and taking photos of the sun setting in Hokkaido. There are at least 4 good options, Cape Puyuni and Yuuhidai which both offer elevated views of the ocean and town below and or Oronkoiwa Rock area and pretty much any place you can find along the rocky shore that looks interesting to you.

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

Shiretoko Five Lakes
Shiretoko Pass
Utoro Sunsets – You are here!
Furepe Waterfall
Oshinkoshin Waterfall
Lake Akan
Lake Mashu
Lake Onneto
Sounkyo Onsen
Kamikawa Angus Farm
Ginga Waterfall
Lake Daisetsuko
Sounkyo Ropeway
Oobako
Blue Pond (Aoi Ikke)
Shirogane Falls
Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera)
Bamboo Forrest in Arashiyama
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
Nanzenji
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Portrait session with models in kimonos

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

Photo Tour of Japan | Shiretoko Pass

Jan 23 | Evan | No Comments |

After posting about the portrait session in Kyoto, I’ve gone back to the order of the trip to share with you Shiretoko Pass. On the roads in Hokkaido that go up mountains, there are many passes that have some places to park and offer great views. Shiretoko Pass is inbetween Utoro and Rausu and with good weather, offers great views of Mt. Rausu, the tallest mountain in the Shiretoko Mountain Range. When I was here in the summer, I had a great view of Mount Rausu, but in the fall, like Mount Fuji often is, the mountain was a little shy and hiding behind the clouds. To the east we could see the ocean and hills down to Rausu, but no mountain. We were also a little early for fall foliage as this year the fall leaves were slower than normal.

There was also a cute fox along the way and I was told by another photographer from the area that he often can see bears in the area. Oh yeah, forgot to mention so far that Shiretoko has a lot of bears, so read up on bear safety before going! If the weather is good, coming here for sunrise would be nice. Unfortunately, the first time we came here for sunrise it was raining, the second it was cloudy/misty until about 20-30 minutes after sunrise… Although I did get to see one great rainbow for about 5 seconds. It’s only about a 25 or 30 minute drive from Utoro, but since it at a much higher elevation, more than 700 meters above sea level, the weather can be drastically different and change swiftly.

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

Shiretoko Five Lakes
Shiretoko Pass – You are here!
Utoro Sunsets
Furepe Waterfall
Oshinkoshin Waterfall
Lake Akan
Lake Mashu
Lake Onneto
Sounkyo Onsen
Kamikawa Angus Farm
Ginga Waterfall
Lake Daisetsuko
Sounkyo Ropeway
Oobako
Blue Pond (Aoi Ikke)
Shirogane Falls
Moss Garden Temple (Kokedera)
Bamboo Forrest in Arashiyama
Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)
Nanzenji
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Portrait session with models in kimonos

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

Photo Tour of Japan | Portrait Session in Kyoto

Jan 23 | Evan | No Comments |

I am going a little out of order from my recent photography tour in Japan with this post here, but this portrait session was such a huge hit with the group, I wanted to go ahead and share it. After Tokyo and Hokkaido our group travelled to Kyoto. While the main purpose of this photo tour of Japan was focused around landscapes and nature photography in Japan, I had arranged for two models to wear Kimono clothes and spend some time with us in Kyoto. The girls rented the clothes from one shop I had used before called Yume Kyoto. From my past experience, I knew the staff at Yume Kyoto was super friendly and helpful, so it was an easy decision to return to their shop. Also, I should mention that their shop is conveniently located on the edge of Gion, across the street from Yasaka Shrine. Yume Kyoto also can do hair and have other options to return the clothes the next day or to your hotel.

Kyoto Portrait Session-017

For the portrait session, we started out in Maruyama Park then went to Yasaka Shrine before crossing the street over to Gion. We had a little time left, and with the idea to avoid the crowds that had been joining in on the photos and following us, we went to a small shrine off the Path of Philosophy in Kyoto called Honen-in. Everyone had a great time and I’m sure next time I plan a group trip to Japan or maybe even for a private custom tour of Japan, I will try to arrange something like this again!