The highlights of this Japan photo tour workshop include Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkeys, Matsumoto Castle, Zen Buddhist Gardens, Red-Crowned Cranes, Steller's Sea Eagles, Hokkaido Sika deer, Whooper swans, White-Tailed Eagles, Shima Enaga, and the minimalist landscapes of Hokkaido. This workshop is focused on photography and the journey itself, with Blain, your workshop leader, ensuring you spend as much time as possible in the field.

On the first day, instead of spending time recovering from jet lag or attending seminars like many other groups do, we'll hit the road right after our meet-and-greet. Blain recommends that participants arrive in Japan one or two days before the meet-and-greet, check into an airport hotel, and rest up for the photography adventure of a lifetime.

Japan stretches over 3,000 kilometres and comprises 6,852 islands, with over 70% of its land being unpopulated wilderness. The country's wildlife is exceptionally diverse, having thrived through not one but three ice ages. Numerous animal species flourish in Japan, including the Japanese Macaque, also known as the Snow Monkey and the world's largest herd of Sika Deer. To date, over 600 bird species have also been recorded in the region.

Winter in Japan presents a remarkable opportunity for wildlife photographers. It combines stunning landscapes with cultural and architectural photo opportunities, from samurai to Buddhist and Shinto influences. Experiencing Japan in winter is truly an exotic photography adventure of a lifetime.

All our workshops are customized for photographers. My support team is highly trained, and I have been leading photography workshops across Japan for over 27 years. We know the best spots known to locals and native Japanese photographers. When we travel, we ensure comfort using the newest SUVs equipped with business-class seating.

After meeting at Tokyo Haneda Airport, we immediately transfer to Mt. Fuji, a must-see UNESCO World Heritage site for anyone visiting Japan. At Mt. Fuji, we will capture stunning photographs of the snow-capped peak, exceptionally breathtaking during the golden hours. We will visit the Fuji Five Lakes, making stops to film in the Sea of Trees, known as Jukai, located on the northwestern flank of Mount Fuji. The forest spans 30 square kilometres and consists of hardened lava from the last major eruption of Fujisan in 864. In this volcanic forest, the trees and plants grow in natural volcanic pots filled with peat moss. The forest is particularly photogenic in winter, attracting very few visitors or school trips. Its dense vegetation and porous lava absorb sound, enhancing the sense of solitude. The porous lava absorbs sound, adding to the solitude, and it's an excellent spot for Shinrin Yoku Forest Bathing. 

After photographing the sunset at Mt. Fuji, we drive to our lodging for a toast and dinner to celebrate the success of our twelve-day photography expedition. The following morning, after capturing the sunrise over Mt. Fuji and enjoying breakfast, we depart for the Suwa Taisha Grand Shinto Shrine Complex, the oldest shrine complex in Japan. There are over 10,000 Suwa shrines across the country, and we will visit the head shrine in Suwako, where we will photograph its priceless national treasures. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to film Shinto miko (巫女) or shrine maidens, as well as priests wearing their traditional attire.

Next, we will drive for less than an hour to explore the world of the Samurai at Matsumoto Castle, locally known as Crow Castle or Karasu-Jo, which is distinguished by its striking black exterior. Built-in 1504, this castle features a unique architectural design that cannot be found anywhere else in Japan, including a secondary donjon and turret attached to its central keep.

Just over an hour's drive from Matsumoto, we enter the territory of the Snow Monkeys in Jigokudani Joshinetsu-Kogen National Park. Here, you can have close encounters with wild Japanese macaques as they relax in hot springs to combat the cold winter temperatures, while young monkeys often play around. The Japanese macaque is the northernmost living nonhuman primate; they thrive in the snowy winter by soaking in the warm, healing hot springs. The region also features volcanic steam vents that help warm the snow monkeys during the cold nights spent sleeping in the trees.

After visiting the snow monkeys, we will transfer to Tokyo Haneda Airport and fly to Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. Get ready for an exciting experience! Look up! The red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis), also known as "snow ballerinas," are renowned for their legendary courtship dance, which is as graceful as ballerinas. These masterful dancers bow to one another, raise their heads toward the sky, and call in unison. When the pair or the entire flock leaps into the air simultaneously, they begin their captivating courtship dance. Spotting and photographing the red-crowned cranes during takeoffs and landings is genuinely exhilarating, and they are breathtaking in flight. We will spend two days searching for and photographing these magnificent birds. Additionally, we will watch for Ezo red foxes (Vulpes vulpes schrencki), various species of owls, and the Shima enaga (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus).

As a side note, in December 2024, we had a special guest—a white-naped crane (Antigone vipio)—mingling and roosting with the red-crowned cranes. This rare occurrence may happen again in the future.

The sunsets in the Kushiro region are brilliant and are considered among the top three in Japan. After spending two days in Kushiro, we will head inland to the high alpine lakes in northwest Hokkaido. This area includes Lake Akanko, Lake Kushiroko, and Lake Mashuko, which are some of the clearest and cleanest lakes in the world, with Lake Mashuko being regarded as the cleanest. The breathtaking mountainous landscape is also home to Japan's First Nations people, the Ainu.

The Ainu are renowned wood carvers and storytellers. We will visit my longtime Ainu friends and have the opportunity to photograph their museum-quality arts and crafts. You may also experience the Ikor theatre, a performance showcasing Ainu spiritual and cultural traditions. This will take place during the evening's Lomante fire performance, for which we will have tickets available. Some attendees may choose to enjoy fireworks by the lakeside.

In the beautiful golden morning hour, we will photograph Mt. Oakan, a sacred peak for the Ainu people.

After enjoying breakfast at our luxurious accommodations in Akano, we will check out and drive along Hokkaido's eastern alpine route. Our next stop will be a 4-star mountain lodge nestled in the foothills. Here, we’ll have the chance to photograph the Blakiston's fish owl from the comfort of an indoor observatory while enjoying our favourite beverages.
Each morning at our mountain lodge, we'll focus on capturing photos of various wildlife, including the Shima Enaga, Hokkaido red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris orientis), Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), Japanese weasel (Mustela itatsi), Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), and pygmy woodpecker (Dendrocopos canicapillus), among others.
Around lunchtime, we will venture outside to photograph Whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus), foxes, and beautiful landscapes. We will return to our lodge just before sunset to prepare for spotting and photographing the Blakiston's fish owl.

After two days at the mountain lodge, we have breakfast, then check out and head for the Pacific Coast for 3 nights and four days of birding and other wildlife encounters.  The Steller’s Sea Eagles are a huge and amazing raptor, they are one of the most fierce birds of prey on our planet.  And they feed on pack ice in the rich fishing waters of Japan's north.  We will board our chartered vessel to photograph the Steller’s sea eagle in its natural feeding ground on pack ice. The white-tailed eagle are endemic to Japan, who also feeds on pack ice next to the Steller's sea eagle; tensions are high when fishing and the white-tailed eagle holds its own with the much larger and legendary sea eagles. You will have hundreds of spectacular images of eagles clutching fish in their talons in flight and while feasting, and film some eagles in strife.  (We book three mornings to venture out on a chartered boat to photograph the raptors on pack-ice; most years, we make two chartered boat cruises.  On great years we make all three cruises; there has only been one year in the past twenty-five that we only made one cruise and that was due to rough weather.)  This region is also home area to the largest herd of Sika deer on our planet, and we will also photograph the Ezo Red Fox, white-tailed eagle, black kite, golden eagle, and many other subarctic species. Sunrises and sunsets are extraordinarily beautiful on this stretch of coastline. 

Itinerary

We advise participants to arrive a day or two earlier in Japan (JST time and date) before our meet and greet. Also, please plan on departing a day or two after our Hokkaido photo workshop concludes. For these days, we will advise participants on hotel recommendations on request.

Day 1, February 14: Arrival and pick up Tokyo, Haneda Airport International Terminal 10 a.m. place to be announced to participants. After meeting, we drive to Mt. Fuji we will spot the mute swan (Cygnus olor) which is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae, you will have an up close and personal encounter with them, due to local conservationists like me who feed these swans and other birds during winters, and they know us well.  We will also visit the Dragon’s cave and the Sea of Trees.  We will pick a spot for our sunset photo op. If time permits, we will visit all the Fuji five lakes, Yamanakako, Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Shojiko, and Motosuko lakes. Lake Motosuko is showcased on the back of the one thousand yen banknote with Fujisan in the backdrop. We will also visit ice caves and the sea of trees. Overnight at Mt. Fuji Hotel TBA (1 night) – Our lodgings have private and communal hot springs/male and female baths separately.  Western-style Rooms with bath and shower.  Dinner and breakfast at our hotel, lunch at a local establishment.

Day 2-4 February 15-16: After breakfast at our lodgings at Mt. Fuji, we depart for Suwa Taisha Shinto Shrines then travel to Matsumoto Castle, an original Samurai Castle completed in the sixteenth century, which maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan. It is one of the twelve remaining original tenshu (castles with keeps) in Japan. After a day experiencing ancient Japan and the world of the Samurai, Shinto priests, and power spots, we make our way to our accommodations at Shibu Onsen village, home to the snow monkeys. Here we will visit and photograph the wild Japanese macaque in their natural habitat and photograph them bathing in hot springs and around the mountain region of Shibu onsen village and Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park. There are approximately 300 monkeys in the area in 3 different troops. We will also visit a local Buddhist shrine that houses national treasures over 1,000 years old. Hotel at Snow Monkey Village TBA (2 nights) Rooms will have a shower bath, western or Japanese style room; plus, our lodgings will have communal hot springs/male and female bath separately. Breakfast and dinner at our hotel, lunch at a local restaurant.

Day 4, 5, February 17 - 18:  Transfer to Tokyo, Haneda Airport (HND) and fly to Kushiro, Hokkaido Airport (KUH) in the evening. The next day we will photograph The Red-Crowned Cranes, also known as the snow ballerinas, plus there are owls in the region. Hotel Two Nights Kushiro (TBA).  Our lodgings have communal hot springs/male and female bath separately. Rooms have a shower and are western style. Breakfast will be in our hotel; lunch will be at a local establishment, dinner will be outside at one of Hokkaido's and Japan's most famous Izakaya restaurants.

 Day 6, February 19: After breakfast and check-out of our lodgings in Kushiro we will photograph The Red-Crowned Cranes. Then after lunch we will make our way to Lake Akan.  We will experience winter alpine Landscape photography, along with Giant Whooper Swans at Lake Kushiro. We will visit the Ainu first nations people of Japan and experience their culture and history. One night at Tsuruga Wings, the same lodgings expedition leaders and I have used when on assignment with National Geographic and other prestigious photographic agencies. Our lodgings are huge, and they have not one but two The North Face shops and a variety of other shops, including Ainu hand-carved wood crafts. Our hotel is known across Japan for its healing onsen. There are several communal hot springs/male and female bath separately; there are also paid private hot springs. Rooms have showers and western baths — breakfast and dinner in hotel Japanese, Italian and Chinese foods, lunch at a local restaurant.

Day 7, 8, February 20 - 21:  After breakfast and check-out in  Akanko, we will make our way to the foothills of Hokkaido's eastern alpine route and check into a 4 star mountain lodge, where we will photograph the Blakiston's fish owl from the comforts of an indoor observatory.  During mornings at our mountain lodgings, we will photograph the Shima Enaga, the Hokkaido red squirrel, the Eurasian jay, the black capped chickadee, the Japanese weasel, the Great spotted woodpecker, and the pygmy woodpecker among other species.  During the daytime we will venture out to photograph minimalist landscape and the Ezo red foxes.   Hotel 2 Nights 4 star mountain lodge. Our lodgings have communal hot springs/male and female bath separately. Rooms have a shower bath and are western style. Breakfast will be in our hotel; lunch will be at a local establishment.

Day 9, 10, 11 , February 22 - 24:  After breakfast at our mountain lodge, we will travel to the Pacific coastline. Hokkaido Steller’s sea eagle photography time plus other wildlife such as the White-Tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Ezo Sika Deer, Ezo Red Fox, Shima Enaga, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, and many other bird species found in Japan.  In Rausu, we will board our (chartered boat) Shiretoko Nature Cruise Hokkaido for our trip into pack ice to photograph the Steller’s Sea Eagle. Sunsets are breathtaking in the Notsuke Peninsula region. (We have three mornings booked for private chartered boat to photograph the Steller’s sea eagle and white-tailed eagle feeding on pack-ice.) Hotel TBA. Rooms will be western or Japanese, and will have a shower bath. Our lodgings will also have hot springs, male and female bath separately—breakfast and dinner in the hotel lunch at a local restaurant.

Day 12, AM February 25: Before breakfast, we will have one last chance photographing the Steller’s Sea Eagles and other wildlife, either on boats or on land. After breakfast and a late morning checkout, we will make our way to Nakashibetsu, inland from the Pacific Coastline. It's about an hour drive, so we will have plenty of time to enjoy photographing minimalist landscapes or local wildlife along the way, lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon flight to Tokyo Haneda Domestic Terminal.  My team and I will be remaining in Hokkaido as our next group of photographers will be arriving as you depart.

Thank you, and we look forward to our next adventure together. 

Why Choose this Photography Tour/Workshop?

•This Tour/workshop is fully inclusive.
•Activity level leisurely - moderate.
•Small group size of 8 participants and four staff equals quality time with participants questions are always welcome and encouraged.
•Each evening and morning we discuss our best shooting options with our weather conditions so that you will be well prepared.
•2026 will be Blain's 28th year leading photography workshops tours and wildlife adventures in Japan.
•Photographers of all levels are welcome.
•All Camera formats are welcome, digital, handy camera, scoping with iPhone large format, film, etc.
•Photograph Mt. Fuji, Samurai Architecture, Snow Monkeys, Steller's Sea Eagle, Red-Crowned Crane and Sika Deer up close and personal.
•Film the largest herd of Sika Deer on our planet.
•Transportation Private Sports Utility Vehicles with Business Class Seating.
•Min participants one Max Participants Eight. 

Tour Cost: $10,500 Includes all lodgings based on double room occupancy, all meals, all ground transportation, domestic group flights in Japan during the workshop, all entrance fees, professional photography guide instruction

Single Supplement: $1200

Not Included
∙Flights to and from Japan, Travel Insurance, Health Insurance, Hotel Amenities, Alcohol Beverages

Registering For The Photography Tour/Workshop
This is going to be another magnificent winter wonderland adventure in Japan. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Blain Harasymiw or call +81 90-6923-3427. This is an all-inclusive workshop. We will pick you up at the airport and return you to the airport. Everything from the time we pick you up and drop you off is included except as noted above. To reserve your spot on this workshop a deposit of $1000 USD is required on registration. The balance is due 120 days prior to the date of the workshop/photo tour. For cancellation and refunds, please see Terms and Conditions.

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by pro Photographer & Instructor Blain Harasymiw.

A deposit of USD$1000 per persons, will reserve a place for you on one of our tours/workshops.By Making a Deposit or Full Payment, you agree to all Terms and Conditions for Participants/clients on any Japan Photography Workshop by Blain Harasymiw Photography.