2015 Rice Terrace Tour of Japan | Kujukushima from Ishidake Observatory

The last sunset of the 2015 Tanada Tour of Japan was spent at Ishidake Observatory to see views of the islands of Kujukushima.  It’s a popular spot for sunsets and also a spot that was used for the opening scene of the film, “The Last Samurai.”  The observatory does get crowded with photographers and the space isn’t huge, so if you plan on going here, best to get there early.

We arrived at at Ishidake Observatory about 2 hours before sunset and there were already some photographers there waiting.  There was still space for our group touring Japan to take photos, but for some photographers that came too late had to squeeze or find another place that wasn’t ideal.

I love the way the water looks after the boats pass through…

And finally a few panoramic photos of Kujukushima taken with my iPhone…

For the 2015 Rice Terrace Photo Tour of Japan, we also visited Doya Tanada, Hamanoura Tanada, Warabino Tanada and Mikaeri Falls, Nijinomatsubara, Jufukuji and  Yumiharidake Observatory for Kujukushima.  Interested in joining a future Tanada Tour of Japan?  Contact me today to start your experience for Japan!  Overall, this group tour of Japan focusing on the rice terraces of Kyushu was a success and besides making some great photos in Japan, we had a great time and ate (too much) delicious sushi and more!  Next up is the 2015 Fall Tour of Japan!

2015 Rice Terrace Tour of Japan | Kujukushima from Yumiharidake Observatory

Our escorted tour of Japan continued from Karatsu in Saga Prefecture to Sasebo of Nagasaki Prefecture.  The hotel our group stayed at was next to a nice observatory with great views of Kujukushima.  Having such a nice place within a 5 minute walk from the hotel was very convenient for taking photos not only of the islands of Kujukushima but also the observatory offered nice views of Sasebo.  The views of Sasebo and the port were more interesting to me here, so that’s why you don’t see any views of Kujukushima in this post.  Don’t worry though, in my next post of Ishidate Observatory there will be more photos of Kujukushima than you probably want to see!

This view is also very nice in the evening with the lights of the city, but the evening we were here, it was too cloudy to see all of the mountains in the background. 

For the 2015 Rice Terrace Photo Tour of Japan, we also visited Doya Tanada, Hamanoura Tanada, Oura Tanada, Warabino Tanada and Mikaeri Falls, Jufukuji, Nijinomatsubara and Ishidake 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 | Jufukuji

During the day for our group tour of Japan in Sasebo, we decided to visit a small private temple in Nagasaki called Jufukuji in Emukae Town.  During May and again in Autumn, the temple lays down acrylic panels inside to create a water-like reflection of their beautiful Japanese garden and rock garden.  The staff there was really kind to our group and even helped us to take some nice photos with the owner posing for us for a few minutes!

The temple grounds of Jufukuji are small but well kept and interesting, especially when they do the special reflection boards!

For the 2015 Rice Terrace Photo Tour of Japan, we also visited Doya Tanada, Hamanoura Tanada, Warabino Tanada and Mikaeri Falls, Nijinomatsubara, 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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