2015 Rice Terrace Tour of Japan | Oura Tanada

Another day with the group touring Japan and another rice terrace to take photographs of! In the morning we went to Hamanoura Tanada and for sunset, we went to Oura Tanada.  It should be noted that you cannot actually see the sun setting at Oura Rice Terrace, but the plan was that since the weather was suppose to be cloudy, it wouldn’t matter as much.  It turned out to be one of the nicer sunsets of our trip and in hindsight I wished we had switched Hamanoura and Oura Rice Terraces, but we still made some nice photos at Oura as the sky did get some nice color and clouds, even the with sun not being there.

Earlier that day, before taking photos at Oura Rice Terrace, we had a fantastic lunch at Caravan Steakhouse in Karatsu City.  Not only was the food very delicious but Chef Kawakami was incredibly kind and accommodating to the eating restrictions and allergies that some of the members of our group have.  We all loved it so much that after we finished our meal, we made a reservation for the next day’s dinner!   Take a look at the delicious food below and our group with the chef afterwards.

For the 2015 Rice Terrace Photo Tour of Japan, we also visited Doya Tanada, Hamanoura Tanada, Warabino Tanada and Mikaeri Falls, Nijinomatsubara, Jufukuji, Ishidake Observatory for Kujukushima and Yumiharidake Observatory for Kujukushima.  Interested in joining a future Tanada Tour of Japan?  Contact me today to start your experience for Japan!

2015 Rice Terrace Tour of Japan | Hamanoura Tanada

After a good start at Doya Rice Terrace in Nagasaki, the next morning I escorted our group of photographers to Hamanoura Tanada. The best time to go to Hamanoura is really for sunset, but the weather was looking gloomy later in Saga Prefecture, and sometimes there can be some nice light and colors opposite the sunrise, so we went here in the morning. There were some interesting clouds for part of the morning and also there wasn’t much rice growing from the rice terraces yet so we were able to make some good photos.

I’m still trying to work on my HDR technique for landscapes and I think comparing with last year’s attempt with rice terrace photos of Japan, I am improving, but still want to learn more.  I love my work as a portrait photographer, but the group tours to Japan are so much fun for the obvious reasons of enjoying Japan and making new friends, but also gives me a chance to work on some photography techniques that I normally don’t have a chance to use.  Next time, instead of HDR, I think I will try the graduated neutral density filters for landscapes of Japan!

For the 2015 Rice Terrace Photo Tour of Japan, we also visited Doya Tanada, Oura Tanada, Warabino Tanada, Nijinomatsubara, Jufukuji, Ishidake Observatory for Kujukushima and Yumiharidake Observatory for Kujukushima.  Interested in joining a future Tanada Tour of Japan?  Contact me today to start your experience for Japan!

2015 Rice Terrace Tour of Japan | Doya Tanada

Back in 2013 I escorted a large group of photographers around Hokkaido, Tokyo and Kyoto.  It was a great trip as we explored and photographed Japan for just about 2 weeks.  I was delighted when Dmitry from Photosafari contacted me again about creating a short extension trip for him and other photographers after they spent some time in New Zealand.  Due to the timing of their trip, we decided to focus on Rice Terraces (Tanada in Japanese) of Kyushu as the timing would be close to when the rice terraces are filled with water making for some beautiful landscape photographs.  We would have liked to arrive a little bit earlier, but due to the group’s other commitments we arrived just after peak season for taking photos of some of the rice terraces in Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture.

After flying into Tokyo, we had a short break before flying to Fukuoka and then we chartered a bus to take us to our hotel in Karatsu.  Karatsu is in Saga Prefecture and a great base for exploring rice terraces in the area.  After Kamikochi and Kyoto, Saga Prefecture, especially Karatsu is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Japan.  Our first rice terrace would be Doya Tanada, which is actually in neighboring Nagasaki Prefecture.  Photos of Doya were the original inspiration for creating the rice terrace tour of Japan as I’m sure you can see why!

For the 2015 Rice Terrace Photo Tour of Japan, we also visited Oura Tanada, Hamanoura Tanada, Warabino Tanada, Nijinomatsubara, Jufukuji, Ishidake Observatory for Kujukushima and Yumiharidake Observatory for Kujukushima.  Interested in joining a future Tanada Tour of Japan?  Contact me today to start your experience for Japan!

Traveling around Kyushu | Tanada Rice Terraces

Tanada, or in English, rice terraces, are rice fields built into hillsides and mountains.  With the right timing and weather, they can provide excellent backgrounds for landscapes in Japan or other countries that have time.  Accessing the best rice terraces isn’t always easy and finding information in English is rare, so I’ve become really interested in creating a tour to focus on some beautiful rice terraces in Kyushu.  I haven’t worked out all the details yet, but this summer I visited a couple areas of Kyushu including Nagasaki, Sasebo and Karatsu, to scout out the area.  I knew my timing wouldn’t be good for photos as I went during the rainy season for Kyushu and also the rice had already started to grow tall in most parts of the rice terraces.  Most of my favorite photos of rice terraces are when the season first starts and you can only see water in the rice fields.  This makes for some magnificent imagery, especially when you get a great sunset.

Even though this trip to Kyushu was mainly to scout the area and during the rainy season, I decided to practice some HDR (high dynamic range) photography.  The first time I really tried this was when I was in Japan during cherry blossom season on another tour of Japan.  You haven’t seen any of those photos because they didn’t come out very well!   This time, while I’m not thrilled with the results, they are at least good enough to share, considering it’s only my second attempt!  Most of these are HDR but there are a few iPhone panoramic photos mixed in as well as a few HDR of other random places I found along the way in Kyushu.

Interested in coming along or in more information about the Japan Photo Tanada Tour?  Contact me and I can fill you in!

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