Suggestions for travel in Japan

[Amedeus]

Nara is great but forget the deer ... if you don't hand out the biscuits fast enough, they'll chase and bite you ... been there, done that

All kidding aside, I spent three days in Kyoto ... just fabulous.

Found a taxi driver (2006) that loved photography and he took me everywhere and didn't charge for the wait time between trips.

Miyajima is also good if you have the time.

Forgot to recommend Nara which isn't that far from Kyoto. ..even if you get bored with all the temples you won't get bored with the wild deer that bow in front of you for biscuits.

[John Olsen]

Nara is great but forget the deer ... if you don't hand out the biscuits fast enough, they'll chase and bite you ... been there, done that.

I'll second that about the Nara deer. They chased my wife and nipped at her until she had to start punching them in the nose. But returning to the original request for getting out of the big cities, let's remember that Kyoto/Nara is hardly the unspoiled countryside.

Here's one that's more off the beaten path: An hour North out of Nagoya there's a temple dedicated to the penis god. It's at Tagata. You'd have to get some unique pictures there. There's a parade of huge dimensions (if you get my drift) in March.

Good luck.

[angusparker]

Nara has the Daibutsu - biggest old Buddha statue - but it's quite dark inside the building. I guess the question is with all these temples/shrines/imperial gardens is what permission would you need to set up a big LF camera? Most of these places are enclosed with walls - some have crowds unless you get there very early. There are a few places that are open and I don't think you would have much trouble e.g. in Kyoto: Fushimi Inari http://www.kyoto.travel/2009/11/fush...ha-shrine.html I lived in Japan for five years and visited Kyoto often but never with an LF camera....but it would be magical to do so.

[bill2424]

Hi Kumar

I plan to get a 2 week train pass and have no plans so anything would be open. I arrive on March 1st and fly home on March 17th

I'm going to be part of an art fair in Yokohama on March 15th and 16th. At this point I'm working out the detail to get my framed photographs to Japan. I think I have those details pretty well worked out.

Bill

[John Olsen]

Hi Kumar

I plan to get a 2 week train pass and have no plans so anything would be open. I arrive on March 1st and fly home on March 17th

I'm going to be part of an art fair in Yokohama on March 15th and 16th. At this point I'm working out the detail to get my framed photographs to Japan. I think I have those details pretty well worked out.

Bill

Bad timing: the fertility festival is March 15. Do a Google search on "Tagata Honen Sai" and consider sweeping by after your big show in Yokohama. You can do that as a day trip based out of Nagoya, which is convenient to reach from Yokohama. Otherwise, stick to Nikko.

Or if you really wanted to expand your photographic concepts, consider going up to the devastated areas of the earthquake/tsumami. It won't be pretty, but your results might be the most interesting thing you've ever done.

Good luck.

[Ron Marshall]

Strongly agree with both Kyoto and Nara.

[B.S.Kumar]

Actually, John is right. Fukushima would be a great opportunity to do some interesting work. If not, a few random suggestions:
Yokohama Nature Sanctuary, a small place in Sakae-ku, practically within the city
Fuji-goko: the 5 lakes area near Mt. Fuji
Kamakura, and the Miura peninsula
Nara, not for the deer, but Todaiji is wonderful - try not to go on weekends
Hiroshima and Miyajima
Koya-san in Wakayama

You may be a little too early for the cherry blossoms, perhaps you could get lucky.

Cheers,
Kumar

[Jim Andrada]

Just some rambling thoughts

One of my favorite places is Kōryū-ji in Kyoto. Not sure whether you could use a LF camera (probably not) but it's well worth seeing even if you can't photograph. Maybe a bit off the usual beaten path of most foreign tourists, but a great place to reflect on life. From the sublime to the ridiculous - Kiyomizudera (Pure water temple) - crowded, noisy, beautifully situated, everyone has fun. Enormous balcony, very dramatic. The (loosely translated) Japanese expression for taking an action from which there is no going back ("Crossing the Rubicon") is to "Jump from the balcony of Kiyomizudera". Taxis are available for hire for several hours or all day at the Kyoto JR station - Kyoto is really quite spread out and it's hard to just catch a cab at some of the more interesting areas that tend to be scattered around the outskirts of the city so hiring a cab is the way to go. I'm pretty sure they can line you up with an English speaking driver if you ask at the information desk. The brother-in-law of one of my friends was a priest in Kyoto and had his own temple. He was a ham radio operator and ran his antenna up inside the temple's spire as i recall.

Kinkaku-ji (the famous "Gold pavilion" is pretty but overrun with foreign tourists mostly I think from China lately. Avoid it. Ginkaku-ji (the silver temple) is much less crowded, but then again they never got around to covering it in silver foil, they just intended to do it.

There are several gardens (Shugakuin is one) managed by the Imperial Household Agency in the Kyoto area. You need to apply in advance for the tours and you have to stay with the group - probably not suitable for LF photography but quite beautiful and you might be OK with a Super Graphic or similar in rangefinder mode - not sure if you'd get away with a monopod or not, but most likely not.

The town of Kakunodate in Akita - beautiful old Samurai homes in a lovely scenic setting. Some of the most beautiful cherry trees in Japan, but you're probably 4 to 6 weeks too early. Just as well because the tiny little town gets so crowded at cherry blossom time that you wouldn't find space for a tripod. It's near Tazawako (Lake Tazawa) which is I believe the deepest lake in Japan. It doesn't freeze over due (according to legend) to a couple of deities whose endless amorous activities in the depths of the lake keep it too warm to freeze.

Another classic caldera lake is Towadako in Aomori. The Oirase stream nearby is quite beautiful and rather crowded in the foliage season.

Takayama (Hida-Takayama) in Gifu Prefecture has a beautifully preserved "old town". The "yatai kaikan" is worth a visit, but probably no formal photography allowed - I'm not sure.

The area around Kamakura is interesting - lots of old temples and trails running through the hills. Hasedera near the 2nd largest Buddha statue in Japan has some nice views over the ocean and hundreds of little clay statues grouped here and there on the grounds - each one representing a child lost by abortion (or stillbirth)

There's Nihon Minka-en in Kawasaki, a large collection of old farmhouses that have been been moved to the city-run park including several with traditional thatched roofs.

Some nice parks in Tokyo itself (Hama Rikyu, Shinjuku Gyoen)

San-riku Kaigan is one of the prettiest areas I can remember - but sections were hit hard by the 2011 tsunami and I don't know what the current status of tourism in the area is now - haven't been there for quite a while.

Heck - the whole country is photogenic. Just wander. The place is safe, the folks are friendly, you can't lose. If I ever get time for a vacation I'm planning to spend a few weeks with the camera up and down the country.

[goamules]

Listen to Jim. Boy, I want to go now. Haven't been to Japan since 1989.

[Jim Andrada]

We get Japan TV (NHK) and they were saying that the cherry blossoms are starting in Okinawa (which is pretty much tropica), so a few weeks earlier than the main islands.

Another thought is Mt Takao about 45 minutes by train (Keio-sen) from Shinjuku to the Takao-san Guchi station (By the way, -san is the word for mountain, not to be confused with the -san attached to names as a form of respect. The characters for Fuji-san for example, could be read as Fuji-yama but they aren't unless used as a family name. Confusing? Welcome to Japan!) from which a funicular takes you partway up the mountain. Main path connects to a network of trails that run up and down the main island. There are all kinds of shrines along the main route - little statues of gods poking out of the rocks, etc. Strange but fun. Great restaurant a few miles from the station by shuttle bus. Restaurant is Ukai-Toriyama and its a cluster of separate traditional buildings along the banks of a stream. They light burning branches in metal baskets as walkway lights just before sunset so you can get some interesting photos before dinner. They have English speaking staff. Haven't been there in a long time but checked the internet and it looks like they're still going strong. Expensive but very good. Unless you like sitting on the floor ask for a "hori-kotatsu" which is a table with a pit in the floor under it so you can sit "normally".