Japan travel and photography 2026

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My wife and I recently bought our tickets for three weeks in June. I have been interested in Japanese art, culture, Zen buddhism for decades. When I was a graduate student at Davis, we lived close to Masayuki Koga, one of the greatest living shakuhachi players. I talked to him on the phone one day about lessons, but ultimately decided against it, because at that point, I didn’t even have enough time to justify my piano lessons.

Anyway, we have been in Europe many times, but this is our first trip to Asia together. Really looking forward to it!

I am aware of the hot/humid/rainy conditions at that time, but everyone I know who lives there or has visited many times has stated that the really unpleasant weather starts in Mid-July through September. Anyway, it’s when we can go! We are trying to learn some Japanese, but will likely not be able to manage much more than a few simple greetings/pleasantries.

We are planning on eight nights in Tokyo, four in Kanazawa, six in Kyoto, and the last three back in Tokyo before flying back. We could fit in more cities, but we like to take our time, wander around, soak up the culture, and not make the trip about checking boxes. We also want time to explore a good sampling of the different delicious restaurants!

Aside from temples, shrines, and gardens, we are mostly interested in museums–e.g., Tokyo National Museum, Roppongi Art Triangle, and the like. The Kenrokuen garden, musical instrument museum in Kanazawa and the Kokedera Moss Garden in Kyoto is a must-see for me–a botanist and moss lover. We will likely take day trips to Mt. Fuji, Nara, and maybe Kobe. Not entirely sold on Osaka (although we do love okonomiyaki). The Art Islands, including Naoshima are very tempting, but logistically a bit of a hassle, and maybe better left for a second trip.

Anyway, I will bring my Nikon Z50 with the pancake lens–my go-to kit for overseas travel. I love the lightness, compactness, full manual controls, and nice EVF. A joy to travel with, especially because we do a lot of walking on these trips. Standing in museums kills my back, especially with heavy stuff in my backpack. Every ounce counts on these trips!

I may bring my Olympus TG-5 in case it is really rainy. My old Nokia XR-20 phone will likekly be replaced by that time, but I will certainly have a cellphone with me. I also want to buy some type of cover for the Z50 to protect from rain. BH sells a few plastic-bag-type things. I’ve bought them before, but they do not inspire confidence (they are inexpensive!). I really also want to do some night photography in all of these cities. Perhaps some very light, compact tripod or monopod?

Any ideas on good sites/views for photography, photo gear that may be useful? Any and all suggestions for a first-timer, including hotels (modestly priced), restaurants/food, walking tours, side trips, and the like are of interest.

Thanks!

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This isn’t photography-specific, but if you can afford it, consider spending a night in a traditional Ryokan with Onsen (hot bath). Perhaps something like this:

Suisen Kansai

I’m not necessarily recommending this specific place, just sending you an idea. Cost is high (maybe around $350 us). I hope you have a great trip!

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Your travel plans sound awesome, I wish you and your wife a pleasant travel and an endless gathering of wonderful moments and experiences that you will have for sure.

Regarding the tripod, I would strongly recommend to take one with you. A year or so ago, I gave my wife a very lightweight traveler tripod as a present - it turned out to be a good choice. It was the lightest (below 1kg) while still being stable enough for a larger body / lens combination that I could find for an affordable price. I’m very satisfied with the quality and pricing of the manufacturer (Rollei) over years now, so I can recommend it from heart.

Don’t know if this is sold where you live, but I link the manufacturer’s page anyway: Compact Traveler No. 1 - Carbon Einsteiger-Stativ für Reisen – Rollei

Best regards, Lars.

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My wife was fortunate to travel to Japan with someone who spoke good Japanese (her husband was “Engineer-in-Residence” at the British Embassy in Tokyo).

This meant that even though she wasn’t in a group, she could get around easily, with few problems with the Japanese language and the three alphabets.

I suspect that might advise hiring a guide or joining a group for the more remote locations.

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My one tip about Japan is to book your hotels definitely in advance. I recently travelled to Japan and expected to just wing it by staying a couple of nights somewhere and booking a hotel for the next couple of nights when I was ready to move on. Hmmmm… not the way to travel Japan I soon realized.

The bullet trains were amazing. Good food is everywhere and I often ate at local places rather than fancy restaurants. I also had to wean myself off convenience store food. A good selection to be had there as well.

I found myself in Sendai for a couple of days and found the region and the mountains were a highlight of my trip. I used the local train to get into the mountains.

Enjoy.

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You can use translation apps for communicating and translating text, though it might struggle with some of the common handwritten style menus. Can get a data eSIM for your phone. I’d recommend this entertaining book to read before you go if you’re interested in some of the background of the Kyoto temple architecture. I was able to recognise some of the features that he mentions when I was there. He also talks about specific architectural sites in the city.

https://alexkerr.net/books/en-another-kyoto/

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I think that this is a wise approach. I haven’t been to Japan yet, but I was talking to a friend who visited recently and the touristy sites that show up in various “top 10 must do” lists are apparently insanely crowded, with misbehaving foreigners who are driving locals quietly insane. I would consider going in a not so popular month an advantage.

For night photography in cities, I usually bring mini tripod, such as the Manfrotto PIXI. I usually find a way to improvise support, sometimes I press it on a wall vertically.

In a light drizzle I usually risk even a camera that is not weather sealed, and when it rains heavily, I would just stow the camera. A plastic bin liner bag you get in a local supermarket is fine for this.

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This was true last time I went. The good thing, though, is there are so many temples and other places in and around Kyoto and elsewhere that I think you can also find beautiful places that are pretty much off the foreign tourist schedule. I will have a look and try to see if I can find some of the places we went. Of course, @Kadsura may still want to see the big sites.

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I speak Japanese and yeah, in the more far-flung parts of the nation you must be able to converse to do anything. Even hotel staff isn’t expected to know English.

I went to Mt. Aso in the south, which was incredible.

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Only really need to read the top of story. In my limited experience trying to find the action in Shimokitazawa can be quite confusing, tho.

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I’m living in Kyoto. So my comments and tips are mostly related to the area:

Weather: Last year we had from June 16th to June 30st just one day with a daytime temperature below 30°C (86°F). On most days the temperature was between 35 and 40°C (95 and 105°F). Combined with the high humidity, it can be uncomfortable. Kyoto is (in)famous for its climate. The rainy season is hard to predict. It can be just a slight drizzle for a few days or a downpour making outdoor activities unpleasant.

Tripod: Putting landscape photography aside, tripods are not allowed in a lot of areas (temples, gardens, certain city areas [e.g. Gion],…). The use in crowed areas is considered as bad manners (beinig a nuisance or even a risk to other folk in crowed areas). Small and unobtrusive would be my recommendation.

Locations: In case you don’t have a fixed check list for your photo locations (and want to take the billionth photo of the main spots: Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari-Taisha,…*) I recommend to go to the northern part of the city, where you have locations that have very few tourists and are quite beautiful. One example is the Daitoku-ji, a word heritage site linked to Zen-Buddhism (with famous gardens) and Tea Ceremony.
I assume that you are aware that Kokedera has restricted the access to the temple and garden. You have to apply beforehand via their homepage.
Check in the internet for local festivals. Besides the main festivals there are a lot of local festivals, often linked to smaller temples and shrines.

Traveling: Download a payment app (e.g. SUICA) for public transportation beforehand. You can pay most public transportation nationwide with this app. It’s very convenient.

  • Don’t get me wrong w.r.t. to the main spots. They are beautiful and you can take nice pictures. Timing might help to avoid the crowds. However, this option is limited as most sites in Japan open at 09:00 and close at 17:00 (with last entry 16:00). As opening times vary, check beforehand

What I forgot to mention is Genji Hotaru (Genji fireflies). There are certain spots in Kyoto where you can find fireflies beginning to mid of June. Tetsugaku michi (Philosophers path) is one of these locations. The tripod might be handy for taking hotaru photos.

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Another Kyoto tip: a lot of restaurants are only open at mealtimes, not in between.

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Fun tip is to watch anime (or read manga), or at least review the synopses of those that are travel-themed. There have been several in the past few years, even one or two centred around photography and/or videography. Remember to take photos of their cuisines as well. I am hungry just thinking about the good food there. Have not been, but fresh, minimally prepared seafood is one of my favourite foods. I love unagi!

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If you fancied some listening before you go, the Rest is History podcast has just done a series on the Dawn of the Samurai, which obviously features Kyoto, including mentions of a few of the still existing sites, as well as the former capital of Kamakura near Tokyo.

This is their website and they’re obviously available on podcast apps. The presenters are both popular historians and pretty entertaining:
https://therestishistory.com/episodes

They’ve done a couple of other episodes on Japan recently and further back also if you search their archive.

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Thanks very much for all the interesting and helpful comments! I hope to return soon to address some of these in more detail.

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Thanks. I am actually very interested in ryokans, but I am also very sensitive to noise, especially coming from adjoining rooms. As such, I was advised avoid ryokans and temple stays because the walls may literally be paper thin, and the doors to each room may in fact be paper. However, I was also advised that (as I suspected), if we stay at a ryokan inhabited only by Japanese people, the noise should not be much of an issue. Tourists OTOH…

For our first hotel in Tokyo, we have booked at MONday apart-hotel in Nihombashi. We do like having the extra space and washer/dryer, especially given the weather when we will visit. This chain gets extremely positive reviews and offers sound proofing, as I infer many hotels in Japan do. Although this hotel is very spacious and convenient, we may be looking for something a bit more stylish and luxurious in Kanazawa and Kyoto.

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Thanks for the tips! We were in Spain a few years ago and heard much the same about insane tourist crowds at sites like the Alhambra, Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, etc. We saw those and others, and yes, they were very crowded–but not so much so that it ruined the visit. We knew what to expect ahead of time, reserved tickets well ahead of time, etc. The really insane crowds in Madrid at least are the Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and bling-bling Gran Via. In the first two we spent about 20 minutes. Gran Via, we saw a few minutes from a cab window, and that was enough for us! The much quieter (but still bustling) surrounding neighborhoods are much more interesting, with much better food!

In any case, many if not most of the things we are interested in in Japan will likely be quieter side. I cannot envision a herd of selfie-snapping influencers crowding us out of the moss garden. I think we will be skipping Shinjuku station and quickly observing the Shibuya crossing from the periphery! Much of the fun of any trip is just wandering around and soaking it up.

At least we are not going in August. August is the worst time to go anywhere, except maybe some nice deserted beach somewhere!

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Thanks very much. Interesting post! How long have you lived there and how do you like it (if you don’t mind my asking)?

Yes, I do have a reminder on my calendar to apply for entry at Kokedera ahead of time. The Daitoku-ji you mention sound great as well. We’ll be sure to put that on our list!

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It is great for hiking in Northern Europe :wink:

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I’m now living four years in Kyoto. Putting the summer months aside life is very enjoyable. The only nuisance are tourists infesting the city in spring and autumn and the bears in the mountains that surround Kyoto.
For an amateur photographer Kyoto is like paradise.
Lots of historical sites, festivals and plenty of nature.
In case you are interested we can have a video chat and I can explain a bit more.

Gerd

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