My annual Essence of Autumn Japan photography tour, this October 28 - November 8, 2024, is a fully inclusive business class authentic Japan photography tour, from our meet and greet at Tokyo airport, to the time we drop you off at Tokyo airport. As with all of my Japan autumn and spring photo tours, participants will enjoy Shinrin Yoku while taking pictures at the most stunning authentic Japanese locations without having to experience tourist pollution. Tourist pollution is never fun. Can you imagine traveling all the way to Japan, paying thousands of dollars just to stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers, taking the same picture that tens of thousands of tourists take each day? WoW! And most run of the mill photography tour agencies use public transportation, or maybe a cargo van with bucket seats. Many photo tours only provide a few meals throughout the tour, and they are mainly not authentic Japanese. Blain in Japan autumn and spring photo tours NEVER use public transportation; we only use LUXURY SUV vans, plus all meals, three meals a day are included, plus there are snacks and drinks in vehicles. And as photographers, we choose the times, not fixed to a regimented schedule. It’s all about the journey and chasing the light. But if you’re using public transportation or riding in a cargo box van group, then you follow the schedule provided and many other fly by night, and even some pro agencies only provide 6-8 hours of photography a day and then cut it. Wow. On Blain in Japan photography tours, we spend as much time in the field as possible. In April, sunrise is at about 5:30 and sunset at 6:00 pm, and we head out an hour before sunrise and return to our lodgings between 30 minutes and hour after the sun sets. Long days, but this is for the photo tour of a lifetime, so I make time. Then during spring and autumn we have a few illumination events that go until 8 or 9 pm, so the days get slightly longer. You can do the math on how much time my participants and I spend in the field. I am a passionate pro photographer, not a clockwatcher. I have a personal assistant that occasionally reminds me of the time. It’s all about the photography, nothing else exists.
When I mention off the beaten path, what I really mean is away from international tourist pollution, on the beaten path are places that everyone can easily find using web, internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing or others. Participants on a Blain Harasymiw photo tour will visit places that few westerners ever get to visit. In short, most of Japan’s most ancient and sacred Zen Buddhist gardens temples, Shinto shrines, and authentic Japanese power spots, ryokans, hotels and others are not interested in mass amounts of international tourists; they do just fine with domestic tourism, but they don’t mind my groups visiting, as I explain Japanese culture and customs to my participants before entering. Over 90% of my Essence of Autumn and spring photo tours are off the beaten path, as we travel cross country through Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gunma, Niigata, Shizuoka Prefectures, among other prefectures depending on the sakura full bloom or the brilliant autumn maple leaves color change. Every autumn and spring we cover a lot of ground and I make sure we visit the Snow Monkeys, who are more active in autumn and spring due to the abundance of natural foods in the forest; youngsters can often be viewed swimming and playing for an hour or more as they love playing like human children. We also visit Mt. Fuji but stay clear of the mass of tourists. During my workshops, I always make sure to introduce clients to the term juxtaposition, especially alongside Japan maple trees in brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges at spots such as Mt. Fuji, or at ancient Zen garden temples, or Shinto shrines, anything that can say this shot was taken in Japan, when compared with Maple trees photographed in Europe or North America. As your photography workshop leader, I have over 35 years experience as an expedition leader, and I am always there to help participants with camera techniques, settings, and compositions, so when you join a photo tour with me, you’re guaranteed to go home with gallery worthy photos.
