A Tohoku Photo Tour focused on Akita Prefecture makes a cornucopia of natural photo ops available. By contrast, one of the most notable and visited locations in Akita Prefecture for natural photography is Lake Taihei, which is actually a man-made lake. The lake is the result of 13 mountain streams of varying sizes feeding into the one to create this majestic lake that spans 30 km in circumference and nearly 60 meters deep. The crystal clear waters of Lake Taihei are home to several types of fresh water fish such as the char, rainbow trout, carp, and pond smelt, but these are not only the treasures that can be found within the lake.
If, as part of your Japan Photo Workshop, you want landscapes to be your main subject, then Lake Taihei has just the photo op for you and your camera. There is a tour boat called the ‘Moriyoshi Circle’ that sails a large portion of the lake’s area giving you the perfect opportunity to occupy the deck and take in the amazing natural beauty that surrounds the lake. The autumn leaves are especially breathtaking, but if you’re interested in making the pleasure boat part of your Japan Photo Tour, you must make sure to keep your desired Photo Tour date between June and October.
Often enjoyed as a companion destination to Lake Taihei is Mount Moriyoshi, the mountain that gives the name to the pleasure boat traveling the lake’s surface. It is also a marvel of natural wonder, especially so in the winter. If a Winter Photo Tour is what you are after, then Mt. Moriyoshi is home to the photogenic and intriguing ‘ice monsters’ that cover the mountainside as if torn from the page of some Victorian Horror story and placed their as a photo op, and that is only during the winter.
Mount Moriyoshi is counted as one of the Top 100 Best Flower Mountains in all of Japan. Blain Harasymiw your Photo Workshop Leader will introduce you to the floral appeals of that the mountain has to offer. Even with the itinerary in hand, once on the mountain, it is very easy to go astray. Blain will guide as you explore the mountain during spring or summer for flower photographer or in the autumn to enjoy the leaves changing color and creating the beautiful patchwork creations of trees’ leaves adopting their fall coloration. If you feel that you would enjoy a bird’s eye view of the foliage, then there is a gondola that can also be part of your Japan photo tour experience, as you train your camera to the glorious horizon and enjoy different perspectives on the autumn leaves during your Japan Photo Tour as you slowly climb in altitude to the mountain’s peak where you disembark and can further hike, explore, and take more once in a life time photos.
