Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Shirakawago and Kanazawa

Aug 17 | Evan | No Comments |

After spending a great couple of days in Kamikochi, our private tour of Japan continued to Shirakawago and Kanazawa, by way of Takayama. First up, we would stay the night in a gassho-zukuri which translates to built like praying hands for the triangle shaped roof that are suppose to look like a Buddhist monk’s hands as during prayer.

There are a few of these small villages throughout Japan though the ones in this area are, largest to smallest, Shirakawago (Ogimachi), Gokayama (Ainokura) and Suganuma. We spent time in all 3 and slept in one of these traditional grass huts in Ainokura. As these villages have become world heritage sites, especially Shirakawago has become very popular and crowded during the day. We were happy to stay in Gokayama which was much less crowded and allowed for better photography opportunities. Of course like many places that get crowded, early in the morning is best to take photos if you can wake up!

After a night in Gokayama, our tour of Japan continued to Kanazawa. Since last Autumn, this was my third time visiting Kanazawa, going to Kanazawa with a private tour of Japan just a week or so earlier, and enjoying Fall leaves in Kanazawa in 2015. Since the opening of the new Hokuriku Shinkansen in April of 2015, Kanazawa tourism has picked up quite a bit with easier access from Tokyo.

Instead of staying in a hotel, we stayed 2 nights in Kanazawa in a machiya, a traditional style home. If traveling with a small group or family, I think it’s a great experience a little what life is like in a traditional Japanese home. In addition to checking out the DT Suzuki museum, 21st Century Art Museum and of course Kanazawa’s famous Kenrokuen, we spent some time with a Japanese certified guide that helped us plan a special and private meeting with one of the gardeners at Kenrokuen! A trip to Kanazawa wouldn’t be complete without visiting the old samurai district, Nagamachi, and old geisha district, Higashi Chaya, so we made time to visit there as well! Next up, a private experience with a Japanese sword smith and a flower arrangement class!

Private and Custom Tour of Japan | Kanazawa

Jul 27 | Evan | No Comments |

Summer may not be considered the best time to visit Japan with all the heat and humidity but Summer is when many have vacation from school! Just because Summer isn’t cherry blossom or fall leaves season doesn’t mean that Japan isn’t beautiful and a great place to visit in the Summer. I spent most of month of June and part of July in Japan, during the “rainy” season but in 30+ days with a schedule of Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Kamikochi, Shirakawago, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto and finally Tokyo again, I only had a handful of days (maybe 3 or 4) where rain was a disturbance. Not bad at all and because Japan is humid with rain in the Summer, everything is a beautiful shade of green!

Looking at my schedule above, perhaps you could tell that I had 3 guided tours of Japan lined up back to back to back! The first two were small custom and private tours of Japan and final tour was a small group from a school in North Carolina visiting Japan. I didn’t plan it this way, but first had a single private tour of Japan for the middle/end of June and suddenly the other two guided tours of Japan fell into place!

The first guided tour of Japan for the Summer was for a mother and daughter, Ellie and Isabelle. Isabelle just graduated high school and is a fantastic budding photographer, well ahead of my time when I was her age! I will be sharing a few of her great photos here but also be sure to check out the video she made from our trip together in Japan on the testimonial page! Back to the tour’s first stop in Kanazawa though!

Of course we stopped by one of the most famous garden’s in Japan, Kenrokuen and then across the street to Kanazawa Castle Park, and also had the chance to stop by the DT Suzuki Museum, Higashi Chaya (old geisha district), Nagamachi (old samurai district) and even a gold leaf workshop in Kanazawa. Kanazawa is famous for arts and crafts, but almost all gold leaf in Japan comes from Kanazawa. It was really interesting to see and learn how gold leaf is made in Kanazawa.

Of course along the way, we were eating lot’s of delicious food along the way and quickly found out that the two women shared similar tastes as me when it comes to food and desert! There aren’t too many times when I have patience to take photos of my food in Japan before eating it, so you will just have to take my word for it! The photos below are all created by and courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography during our days in Kanazawa. Check out Isabelle’s blog post about Kanazawa for more.

Photo created by and courtesy of Isabelle Nazha Photography

2015 Fall Photo Tour of Japan | Around Kanzawa

Feb 13 | Evan | No Comments |

Having spent a lot of time taking photos at one of Japan’s most scenic gardens, Kenrokuen, and then a few day trips to Natadera and Shirakawa-go, we wanted to explore some other places in the city of Kanazawa. Kanazawa does have many interesting places to visit as a tourist of Japan and for photographers looking to create art in Japan. Some of my favorite places in Kanazawa are Nagamachi, the old samurai district, Higashi Chaya, the old geisha and teahouse district, Ninjadera, old temple with sneaky passage ways and hidden doors/traps, and the 21st Century Museum.

Let’s start with that last one, the 21st Century Museum which is a modern art museum large enough to spend some time there but not overwhelmingly so. You can’t take photos of all of the exhibitions and it’s most famous work of art Leandro Erlich’s “Swimming Pool” was under renovation when we went, but still a very interesting and fun place to visit, but this glass hallway was our favorite part (and I would love to have a portrait session here on an overcast day like it was that day, great light)!

The next two works of art were created by and courtesy of Charles Bowers, originally taken as photographs at the 21st Century Art Museum and then digitally painted to create the pieces below. Be sure to take a look at his site for more fantastic art from his international travels and information about upcoming shows!

Another really interesting place is in the Teramachi disctict (temple district) of Kanazawa, Ninjadera, also known as Myoryuji. It’s important to note a few things about this temple in Kanazawa. First, you need to make a reservation, which if you can’t speak Japanese, any hotel staff should be able to help with. Second, you cannot take photos inside, bummer for photographers, I know! Third, you can only visit on a scheduled tour, don’t be late! Fourth and final note, the tours are conducted in Japanese but you do get an English binder with most of the tour translated for you. Even with all of these setbacks, Ninjadera is still very interesting and worth visiting, especially if you have a rainy day or are avoiding the middle of the day harsh light. You can take photos from the outside, like this one of Mami doing her best ninja impression!

I also mentioned Nagamachi and Higashi Chaya, both well preserved (with modern influences mixed in) older districts that are best explored by foot. One place I particularly love is the Nomura Samurai Family Residence. The garden and house is beautiful and photographers can spend lot’s of time here creating art and enjoying the scenery! A must visit while traveling to Kanazawa and the old samurai district! I’ve visiting countless temples, shrines, residences and gardens during my travels and tours of Japan, but for some reason, this fountain in the Nomura Samurai Family Residence’s garden is always what comes to mind when I think about a Japanese fountain. Everyone always seems to take lot’s of photos of it and they always turn out different!

This post has images created by and courtesy of Mami Yasui, thank you!

The 2015 Fall Photography Tour of Japan included Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawago, Okayama, Hiroshima, Miyajima and Kyoto! Interesting in joining your own escorted tour of Japan with Japan Photo Guide? Contact us to get the planning of your trip to Japan started or join one of the group tours of Japan!

2015 Fall Photo Tour of Japan | Kanazawa to Natadera

Jan 26 | Evan | No Comments |

Having already spent a lot of time in Kenrokuen and making a day trip to Shirakawago, it was time to check out some other sites around Kanazawa and we made one more day trip to Natadera which is still in Ishikawa Prefecture but in Komatsu and Kaga Onsen area, not Kanazawa. As you can see below, the fall leaves were stunning here and I guess it makes sense as Natadera is quite famous in the area for autumn foliage!

Natadera is quite large and is about the size of some of the larger, well known temples in Kyoto. It’s easy to spend a lot of time walking the paths at Natadera and find interesting photo opportunities. It’s well known for fall leaves, but Natadera also has a variety of gardens, ponds, moss covered paths and gardens, a small museum and this below which body in our group had the courage to walk up to (what you can’t see from my photo is the steep drop below if you slip off the narrow path but can kind of get an idea from the second photo)!