Everything, including Fukushima Photography, stopped in 2011, when disaster tore through the Tohoku Region of Japan as the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear was struck by the tsunami after the level 9, sometimes measured as 9.1, magnitude earthquake shook, rattling everything and everyone throughout the country. The loss of life and destruction of property left an indelible mark on the people of Japan as well as people all over the world.

8 years later, Fukushima has in a large part recovered, and the photo ops abound in the Fukushima area. The beauty of the prefecture and its natural appeals shine through.

One location that I and my staff from Blain Harasymiw Photography highly recommend is a place a little off the beaten path, as you would expect. Goshiki-numa or in English, the five-colored ponds, are all volcanic lakes that were formed in 1888 with the eruption of Mt. Azuma in Fukushima prefecture.

The question that is immediately and invariably asked is, “Are there really five different colored ponds?” The answer is ‘yes’, but we at Blain Harasymiw Photography encourage you to bring your camera and take your own photos of this spectacular natural phenomenon. The names of the different ponds are: Bishamon-Numa, Aka-Numa, Ao-numa, Benten-numa, and Midori-numa. The different colors of the ponds fluctuate with the weather, so the shade of each distinct pond varies throughout the year. It’s definitely a location that you can see more than once and never take the same picture twice!

The location also benefits from having beautiful autumn leaves that surround and accent the sometimes cobalt blue ponds they encircle. It’s a rare shutter chance for all that visit.

Let Blain Harasymiw Photography take you on a walk through the natural beauty that is part of Fukushima prefecture.