2019 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour | Kyoto

Jul 17 | Evan | No Comments |

The 2019 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour took a small group of photographers to Japan. We started in Tokyo and continued to Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji Castle, Kyoto and Mt. Fuji from Shizuoka and from Fuji Five Lakes. Here is the trip report from the 2019 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan and the 2018 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour of Japan. The 2020 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour of Japan is already planned and live! Limited spots are available for the 2020 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan, with first booking already reserved!

So far our cherry blossom photography tour of Japan was lucky enough to have nice weather and perfect cherry blossom timing for just about all cities we traveled to in Japan. Kyoto was more of the same with cherry blossoms in full bloom just about everywhere in Kyoto waiting for our group to photograph them.

Sometimes I get asked what my favorite place in Japan is to visit or favorite place in Japan for photography is. This is a really difficult question as Japan has so many wonderful options for tours and photography in Japan. Also, the answer really depends on the time of year for most places in Japan. That being said, Kyoto is my favorite place in Japan to travel to and photograph any time of the year but especially in cherry blossom season, I love spending time and guiding photographers in Kyoto.

The two photos above are courtesy of and created by one of our group’s photographers, Daniel Leffel. Take a look at Daniel’s website for more excellent photography not only of Japan but all over the word.

Here is a gallery of more photos from our photography tour in Kyoto:

2019 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour | Himeji Castle

Jul 16 | Evan | No Comments |

With Tokyo and Miyajima finished, the 2019 cherry blossom photography tour continued to Himeji, home of Himeji Castle. Famous for the thousands of cherry blossom trees, Himeji Castle is a great spot to capture the essence of Japan. Finding spots where the castle and the cherry blossoms can be photographed together is the goal but Himeji Castle itself provides lot’s of photo opportunities and the cherry blossom spots alone, around the castle are photogenic as well.

The photo below is courtesy of and created by one of our group’s photographers, Daniel Leffel. Take a look at Daniel’s website for more excellent photography not only of Japan but all over the word.

Bellow is a gallery of cherry blossom photos from our photography tour in Himeji and Himeji Castle.

2019 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour | Miyajima and Hiroshima

Jul 15 | Evan | No Comments |

After spending 2 nights in Tokyo, the 2019 cherry blossom photo tour of Japan traveled by bullet train to Miyajima. While tour was without rain so far, colder than normal temperatures had Japan feeling more like Japan in the winter rather than Japan during cherry blossom season. For the most part, the cooler temperatures during cherry blossom season in Japan helped by slowing what started as an early blooming cherry blossom season and the cherry blossoms held their pose for us just a little longer!

Miyajima is one of my favorite places to bring photographers in Japan. Actually, even for my less or non photography oriented tours of Japan, Miyajima and Hiroshima are always a pleasure to visit.

Below is a gallery of cherry blossom photos from our days in Miyajima.

2019 Cherry Blossom Photo Tour | Tokyo Portrait Session

Jun 14 | Evan | No Comments |

During my cherry blossom tours of Japan, we almost always have a portrait session in Kyoto with a real maiko or geiko but during the 2019 cherry blossom photography tour we also had a portrait session in Tokyo with a model living in Tokyo. Last summer in Tokyo I photographed the same model so it was good to work together with her again and everyone created some nice portraits in Tokyo.

During our portrait session in Tokyo we started with some street photography in the Harajuku area and then moved to Yoyogi Park for cherry blossoms in the background.

See the gallery below for more portraits of our model portrait session in Tokyo during cherry blossom season.