Japan and tripod

[Marco Annaratone]

Hi!

I am planning a long trip to Japan (Kyoto, Nara, a bit of Tokyo, etc) and I would like to have some of your experiences re: shooting LF there (tripod limitations, reaction of passer-bys and police, custom, etc). I am interested in landscape, architecture, abstract, i.e., people are never the subject of my photography. Unless they pop up inside the frame just at the right moment, that is

Thanks!

[David R Munson]

I haven't had people take much notice, aside from people who knew what I was doing and were interested. I've had many friendly chats with passersby, but haven't gotten any negative attention with a view camera on a tripod. Be mindful of where you setup and try to keep out of the way and I think you'll be fine.

[Rayt]

No problems with tripod in Japan, not even with curious and chatty people.

[FrankS]

Japan has been the most photo friendly country I've been to.

[mike rosenlof]

Japan has been the most photo friendly country I've been to.

+1 here. I've never taken LF, but have taken MF on several trips, and tripods. You may occasionally see a "no photo" sign in English if it's a tourist area, but they're pretty rare.

[Andrew O'Neill]

In all the years I lived in Japan, I never once had a problem with a tripod and big camera.

[JMO]

I have travelled and photographed in the places within Japan you've mentioned, but not with my LF gear. However, I very much look forward to going back and doing so with my MF film cameras. In Oct. 2013 I spent 3 long and intensive days with my tripod and Leica M9 digital gear at several Zen temples (and some other locations) in Kamakura, and I had no problems with anyone regarding use of the tripod or the photography I was doing. Given it was October, it was past the heavy tourist season, so the temples and other areas I was shooting in were not very busy/crowded; but my sense was that the Japanese people (location staff and other visitors/tourists) at those locations were well used to photographers using tripods (etc.). Keep in mind that Nikon, Canon, Mamiya, Ebony, Fuji film, and other Japanese companies have large domestic user bases, and have had so for decades, so there are lots of local photographers that people are used to seeing around. And you should also feel confident that the Japanese people are very respectful of other people around them (including visitors), and what they are doing and enjoying. So long as you are being reasonable and respectful of what others are doing, you should have no problems with the local people hassling you, and my experience is that it would be very unusual for the average Japanese citizen to hassle any photographer who was quietly, discretely and respectfully going about his/her hobby interest to take serious photographs. No doubt there may be restrictions in (especially inside) some temple areas about using tripods, but (again in my off-season experience) I don't recall any such issues on the outsides of temples and shrines, or in the accompanying gardens. Finally, the airport security people at Narita airport are also very accommodating about hand-checking photo film and gear, as needed. ...

[Jim Andrada]

+1 to the Security folks at Narita. Very polite and helpful - they apologize for having to search your stuff.

A bit OT perhaps but our friends' cat in Tokyo had kittens and I flew over to bring one back. Had to have an outgoing health check. A very pleasant older gentleman put his finger in the cat carrier to pet the kitten (said kitten had been on a bus from downtown for an hour by now and was unhappy to say the least!)

Kitten damn near bit his finger off - he was bleeding from a dozen tooth marks. All he could say was something to the effect of "Really healthy" and apologize for annoying the kitty.

Only in Japan. Anywhere else the cat and I would probably have spent the night in jail.

[Marco Annaratone]

Jim, as a cat lover I enjoyed your story tremendously!

I am familiar with Japanese culture and speak some basic Japanese. This time around I am not going for work but solely for tourism and photography and it's going to be a long vacation (three weeks, in October). I do not have the guts to go there with my 8x10 (sorry, I am a chicken) but was planning to take my 6x17 with me. Hence the question about tripod and cameras that may attract some attention.

All your answers confirm what I somehow expected, i.e., Japan is a photographer-friendly Country.

Thank you all! I will be mostly based in Kyoto, if you have any interesting location to suggest which can be reached in two hours from Kyoto (besides Nara, that is), please feel free to let me know. Actually, the less touristy the better.

[David R Munson]

The Fushimi Inari shrine is well-traveled, but there's more to it than most visitors see. Head off the main paths, follow those weird little trails and stairways into the woods. Also, bring a small bag of dry cat food. Seriously - there are friendly strays all over, and making them happy always makes my day of photography better as well.

Beyond that, I stand by my philosophy of getting lost. Pick a direction, take a train, pick another direction. Get lost. On purpose. See what you find, see what happens, etc. Rolf Potts' "Vagabonding" is good guidance here. I can hardly think of a better place than Kyoto to be a flâneur.