Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan | Maiko Portrait Session

Apr 20 | Evan | No Comments |

Maiko Portrait Session-13-japanphotoguide

The 2014 cherry blossom tour of Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan had been going great and filled with special experiences so far. When planning this trip to Japan, one of the experiences I was most excited about was this portrait session with a real maiko! A maiko is an apprentice geisha or geiko as they are referred to in Kyoto. Many westerners think that these women are prostitutes, but this is not the case (and has not been for quite some time). Maiko, geisha or geiko are really entertainers that not only must know how to perform songs and dance, but also how to social interact and talk with high ranking politicians and members of elite society. For more information about maiko, geisha, geiko and their history, the wikipedia page is a good place to start.

Maiko Portrait Session-20-japanphotoguide

To schedule time with a maiko is not so easy. First, you have to know somebody with a connection. I had a few interactions with maiko and geiko, and because of my experience with some geisha houses and my Japanese, I could have scheduled something by myself, but like many things in Japanese culture, the most direct way is not always the best. So even for me, the best way for me to arrange time with one is to go through one of my connections in Kyoto. Even if you have a connection or two like myself, availability can be a problem as there are not so many maiko around! Thanks to my connections, we were able to arrange 2 different portrait sessions with 2 different maiko. Now that we had the time scheduled, the difficult part was finding a beautiful place, where we wouldn’t be overrun by tourist rushing to take photos! So all the popular places were out of the questions, but we were able to find some more isolated areas that allowed us to make beautiful portraits in Kyoto. Here are just a few of my favorite portraits of the two maiko in Kyoto during cherry blossom season:

2014 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan | Tokyo and Kyoto

Apr 16 | Evan | No Comments |

I love visiting and sharing Japan during anytime of the year, but there is nothing like Japan during cherry blossom season! What started out as me helping the family plan by consulting on their trip, turned into a 8 day tour with them in Tokyo and Kyoto during cherry blossom season. We were perhaps a few days early for the sakura to be in full bloom, but towards the middle and end of the trip, we got to see some beautiful cherry blossom trees. Besides the cherry blossoms, we had plenty to do!

Tokyo and Kyoto-15-japanphotoguide

This tour of Japan was one of my hybrid general + photo tours where the father had a strong passion for photography and while the rest of the family enjoys taking photos, the tour couldn’t be just a photography tour. There were still some early morning photography sessions just the rest of the family was sleeping in and eating breakfast while we were out taking photos. The father’s main focus is actually wildlife photography but aside from crows in Tokyo, there really aren’t any wildlife photography opportunities in Tokyo! Instead, we were mainly focusing on cityscape and HDR images in Tokyo. I also arranged a portrait session in Tokyo. In Kyoto, I arranged two portrait sessions with a real maiko (Geiko in training, Geiko is what Geisha are called in Kyoto) and of course some of the amazing temples and shrines were our focus, along with the ever popular bamboo groves in Arashiyama.

Ninja Experience-10-japanphotoguide

Like I said though, this wasn’t just a photography tour of Japan! There was lot’s of sightseeing and experiences for the rest of the family as well! Of course we went to the usual suspects in Tokyo and Kyoto, like in Tokyo, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara and in Kyoto, Golden Pavilion, Ryoanji, Path of Philosophy, Kiyomizudera and so on… but also, were able to arrange some very special experiences as well. Some of those experiences were a private demonstration with a Japanese sword smith, tea ceremony, already mentioned the maiko portrait session, private meeting with a monk for learning about Buddhism and to take some photos, a ninja experience and more! Check out a few of my favorite photos of the family and cherry blossoms from the trip. More photos from our tour of Japan coming soon!

Photo Tour of Japan | Fushimi Inari Shrine

Apr 16 | Evan | No Comments |

Fushimi Inari Shrine is one of my favorite places in Kyoto. It’s a little out of the way in Southeastern Kyoto, but certainly worth the extra effort to get there! There are thousands of torii gates lined up next to each other of various sizes. All of the gates have the names of individuals or companies that have made donations to have their gate placed there. So one side is just red and the other side has characters on the torii gate. While most places in Kyoto do not open early, Fushimi Inari never closes, so you can come visit as early as you want. Like with the bamboo groves of Arashiyama, I recommend going as early as possible to avoid crowds, but really, it doesn’t get as crowded here as other popular tourist places in Kyoto like Kiyomizudera or Golden Pavilion.

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

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

Photo Tour of Japan | Bamboo Grove in Arashiyama

Apr 15 | Evan | No Comments |

Arashiyama is on the outskirts of Western Kyoto and a beautiful place to visit. I talked about Arashiyama already in my post in Kokedera (Moss Garden) and another popular place to visit, walk through and take photos is the bamboo grove. I recommend going as early as possible, even arriving just before sunrise. I recommend visiting the bamboo forest early not only for the beautiful light, but also to avoid the crowds. If you are visiting just to see the bamboo in Arashiyama, then perhaps you don’t need to go as early, but for photos, getting there early makes a huge difference! We arrived in Arashiyama about 20 minutes before sunrise and besides the occasional local on a walk or run, we were free to take photos without hoards of tourists!