Japan

[Jason Denning]

Hello

I've got 10 days in Japan coming up and wondered if anyone has some Landscape tips?

I'm flying in and out of Osaka and staying in Kyoto a few days and renting a car so am free to go anywhere, is there any amazing landscape locations I should check out? I know about all the usual tourist places like temples. Mount Fuji is also on my list.

Thanks

Jason

[wolfnowl]

You might want to check out Jeffrey Friedl's blog. And our own Bernard Languillier, of course!

Mike.

[Jason Denning]

Thanks I will have a look

[rpsphoto]

Jason

Also look at Michael Kenna's work. He shoots in Japan a lot.

Best regards,

Bob

[desertmike]

Hi Jason,

I've just moved to the Kansai area and am struggling to find "amazing landscape" places in the urban sprawl around Osaka & Kyoto.

However, there are some places outside Kyoto where you can find some great woodland and hills, check out the Lonely Planet "Hiking in Japan" for some ideas for day trips out of Kyoto.

Mike

[David Campbell]

Jason,

I agree about checking our Bernard's work.

Here is a google map of some of the places I managed visit when I lived in Japan.
When you click on a pin, it will open a window with a images (unless the pin is red, they don't have images).
There is also a link to my old flickr page that has images in sets by their location. This could help find some places?
You can also check out my website

In terms of pure landscape locations you may have to travel a fair bit to get out of the cities.
If you will be driving to Mt Fuji from Kyoto, you may want to consider diverting via Kamikochi, it will be a fair side trip but depending on the time of year, could be well worth it.
Mt Fuji is renowned for not being visible due to cloud and there is a high chance you wont be able to see it.

If you had more time, I would suggest Yakushima. It is stunningly beautiful, but quite remote from where you fly in/out.

Japan-Guide is a very useful website.

Enjoy your trip
David

[Frank Sirona]

In terms of pure landscape locations you may have to travel a fair bit to get out of the cities.
If you will be driving to Mt Fuji from Kyoto, you may want to consider diverting via Kamikochi, it will be a fair side trip but depending on the time of year, could be well worth it.

There is a wonderful book on Kamikochi, photographed by Shinzo Maeda. It´s out of print for years now (the German edition, published by Taschen, was released in 1987, and the Japanese original edition in 1983 already), but from time to time used copies show up. I believe that this book still represents the gold standard of landscape photography at Kamikochi, the quality of the photos being out of question (having been shot with Hasselblad, Linhof and Toyo cameras up to 8x10), and highly recommended to everyone interested in landscape photography. One of my ever favorites!

[Frank Sirona]

Also look at Michael Kenna's work. He shoots in Japan a lot.

On Youtube you can find a great video showing Michael Kenna working in Hokkaido, and talking about his work:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3