For more than two decades, I have been exploring Mt. Fuji and the region, where I lead my annual autumn in Mt. Fuji Japan Photography nature tour workshop, and I am drawn to the power spot Fujisan as a moth is to open flame. On almost everyone of my group photography nature tour photo workshops, I include the iconic symbol of Japan, Mt. Fuji. I could not imagine visiting photographers coming all the way to Japan, and not viewing one of the world’s most beautiful iconic volcanic peaks for at least one or two golden hours, perhaps more. Prior to 2020, millions of international tourists annually visited Mt. Fuji seeking that once in a lifetime Mt. Fuji photography nature tour of a lifetime along with the picture perfect image of arguably Japan’s most iconic peak and symbol. One of my favorite Mt. Fuji photo workshop itineraries is autumn at Mt. Fuji, and my cross country essence of autumn photography workshop route, because they all lead to a visit with the Zen Forest concierge at one of my favorite Zen Buddhist and Shinto mixed shrines off the beaten path; the colors are mind blowing, popping just as the golden hour sets to blue hour, then participants and I must resort first to 30s then to 1min, 2min, 5min up to 10min exposures, and this segment of the workshop is where 101% of participants are stunned at the vibrant colors and scenes we capture, as they get to experience authentic Japan as well as my deep knowledge of Japanese history, mythology, sociology, and symbology. All this plus participants can fine-tune their long exposure techniques in an authentic ancient Japanese zen garden, where Buddhist monks, samurai, and pilgrims traveled to dating back to the Kofun period. If visiting photographers opt to use public transportation and attempt to unearth some of Mt. Fuji’s secrets on their own, they may find their options for enjoying Mt. Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes limited. Lake Kawaguchiko has easy access by train and bus from Tokyo, but beyond that tourists are basically stuck on the well worn Fujisan tourist track, and access to the Fuji Five Lakes is extremely limited; there is transportation, but buses run just a few times a day to certain lakes and there are no convenience stores, and pay phones are limited along with cell reception in some regions, if your thinking about using a taxi for the day you might as while hire me, the cost will be about the same. There are buses to a couple of ice caves and bat caves at an extra cost, but to tell you the truth, the first time I visited these spots I drove into the parking lot, saw the tourist buses, and immediately drove out. Mt. Fuji has countless caves and hiking trails to enjoy for forest bathing (shinrin yoku), but you should hire a local who knows the region for safety, again as cell phone service and transportation is very limited, and foul weather can come in fast. You could rent a car or SUV, but you will be driving in circles for days without a detailed map to know the best spots and times.
Even while I am leading my annual Hokkaido photography nature workshop photo tour, I include our first night and our welcome dinner at Mt. Fuji. I could never imagine sitting in a hotel in Tokyo on the first day of our workshop especially with a group of nature photographers, especially when participant’s are paying for a trip of a lifetime. Sadly some International tour operators spend their first night in a hotel in Tokyo with participants, so they can all get over jet-lag together. Not me, I suggest to my participants to overnight at an airport hotel or spend a couple of days in Tokyo to overcome jet-lag. Still I do run private Tokyo photography workshops, but again I ask participants take a day or two before our start date. Like most of my workshops and my Hokkaido photo workshop is a quick meet and greet at Haneda Airport, and a drive to Mt. Fuji to arrive just in time to photograph during golden hour. Then on day two, before breakfast we are standing at one of the fuji five lakes in the blue hour to enjoy a spectacular golden hour, hopefully with calm waters to capture the perfect mirrored reflection of Mt. Fuji in the lake. On a side note, I never know which lake I am going to visit on day two, because the weather is very different from lake to lake and changes quickly, and before going to sleep and once I wake up I check weather charts and make the call in the am to which lake we are visiting. After our golden hour shoot at Fujisan we return to our lodgings and enjoy breakfast then checkout; on this day, we visit Japan’s most pilgrimaged to shinto shrine complex along with visiting and photographing one of Japans twelve original samurai castles, then we arrive at the snow monkey park in Nagano just before sunset and check into our lodgings and enjoy dinner and participants may enjoy the healing onsen, then we have a few days visiting and photographing snow monkeys. 99% of Hokkaido Snow Monkey photo tour workshop itineraries out there, don’t stop at Mt. Fuji, or Japan’s most famous shinto shrine complex or Samurai castle, because it is a logistical headache and costly, so they opt to spend a night in Tokyo and drive to Nagano in the am arriving about lunch time, enough time for a hike up and an afternoon visit with the Japanese macaques. The drive from Tokyo to Nagano snow monkey park is over 4 hours with rest stops. Day 5 on my Hokkaido nature tour workshops is our travel day, making our way from Nagano to Tokyo Haneda Airport and Hokkaido.
Mt. Fuji has been worshipped over for thousands of years, even before this island nation was called Japan, beginning with the First Nation’s People, the Ainu. The Ainu understood Mt. Fuji’s inherent cultural and spiritual value. Mt. Fuji is an active volcano representing something larger and more meaningful than the nation itself. It’s almost like this symbol of Nippon carries a calling card for people to pilgrimage to at least once to view its splendor in the natural world, and enjoy some forest bathing (森林浴 shinrin yoku). The Ainu know this and lend the appropriate reverence to Japan’s iconic peak. Other parts of Japan, such as capital cities have changed through the ages. Nara was the first capital city of Japan, then Kyoto, and now Tokyo. With every age, it seems the nation’s capital city changes to reflect a new focus of power and interest for the people of the nation. In the year 864, Mt. Fuji erupted for 10 consecutive days casting cinders and ash as far away as Edo Bay. Fujisan became a sacred volcanic peak because the powers that be were dumbstruck for an explanation why Fujisan was erupting for over a week. So they asked their spiritual guides at the time Shinto priests to interpret the guiding force behind the continuing volume of the lava flow. “Well,” from that day forward Mt. Fuji has been the properly of Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, which is the owner of over thirteen hundred shrines and temples across Japan. From the base of FujiSan to around the Five lakes and to the summit there are shrines and temples dedicated solely to this iconic volcanic peak. Interestingly, the paperwork or the deed of ownership to the temple was never made official by the Japanese government, so it rightfully belongs to the people. The 864 eruptions and lava flow phenomenon created the Aokigahara Forest, The Sea of Trees; it’s a phenomenal, legendary forest that spans two thousand and four hundred hectares across the Northwest base of Mt. Fuji. My recommendations always come rooted in the form of personal experience, and Mt. Fuji and its surrounding area are no different. I know Mt. Fuji, the Five lakes and the surrounding region like the back of my hand, as its very close to my first home in Japan, and I have spent years exploring and leading photography expeditions in the region. On my last autumn in Mt. Fuji photo workshop, a participant, Paul K. from Victoria, Canada, joined two photo workshops while visiting Japan. The first was in Kyoto, and the second was my annual Mt. Fuji Autumn Leaves nature tour photo workshop. While we were photographing in a huge zen garden off the beaten path, Paul asked me a question about the meaning of wood carvings and stone statutes that are in and around the shrines and temple complex, some of which are national treasures. The female licensed Japanese guide on his first tour commented when viewing similar carvings at a temple in Kyoto, a temple that I am familiar with, saying that there was ‘good’ and ‘bad’ karma in the Japanese thinking regarding these carvings, “and?” I asked Paul expecting more,” that was it!” “Paul said!” ‘WoW’, you could have blown me over with a feather when I heard about Paul’s experience. I was dumbstruck by her evaluation because that’s how I would express the concept to an elementary school aged child, not to someone who is past the age of puberty, especially not to a client who was paying top dollar on my photo workshop and rightfully expecting authentic, untold stories of Japan. The carvings this run of the mill tour guide was referring to are expressions of spirituality (Reiji Holy Spiritual Animals) as well as scholarly and philosophical-mystical beings of Buddhist, Shinto and The First Nations Japanese Ainu folklores, it took me about 30 minutes to explain their foundation representations to Paul and the rest of the group, while we continued photographing, and I even got to point out a few hidden cyphers that are only present in the candle light in the blue hour.
Any photography workshop I lead, the route has taken me years to scout and perfect. And when visiting historical, cultural sights or other locations, you can guarantee I am exceedingly familiar with the history and region, my experience being similar to academic text and sometimes beyond on the topic. One of my main goals while leading photography workshops is not only teaching pro photography techniques, but also the culture and history of the regions that we are visiting. Before participants return home I ask them to please contact me if they would like info on certain locations, or meanings of statues, symbols, road signs, etc., and over 75% of my clients return. I have some clients that have been on the same photo workshops twice, and, of course, I am able to change up our route a little. I am able to do this because I know the regions and back roads where I am leading photo workshops backward and forward. When leading a workshop, Rule #1 for me is to know the topography, history, culture, lodgings, food, customs, and anything else my team and I need to create the Japan photo workshop of a lifetime. Every detail is examined with a fine-toothed comb, every minute on the itinerary given the utmost scrutiny. Leading Japan photography workshops properly takes time, effort, and patience. And an excellent support team with strong common sense with proper training is paramount. And I firmly believe myself and my team must be ready for any phenomenon. When a participant has a deep question, pertaining to authentic Japanese architecture cultural, spirituality, history, sociology, or folklore, I am usually there to answer, and I always enjoy an enigmatic question. But if I am not present, one of the Blain Harasymiw Photography team members may answer the question on my behalf, but if they don’t know the answer to a question, unlike 95% of Japanese people who express deep shame when not being able to answer a question about Japan, my team members will calmly inform me, as they all know my past and present, and that I belong to an academic historians club associated with Tokyo University and Waseda University, and I have lectured on several topics mentioned above, so I will casually find the participant and continue the conversation. For these reasons, it takes at least two to five years before leading participants on a new route and itinerary. I look at this logic as good business and safety sense. I could not imagine being one of those photo workshop leaders who scout a region for a week, and think they are good to lead a workshop in a new region WoW! Good Luck, especially if you run into foul weather and road closures!
I wrote a similar article to this one in the Luminous Landscape published June 6, 2020. I have another that will be published in the Luminous Landscape in the coming months about in-depth cyphers and lost treasures and other mysteries of the land of the rising sun.
When Will Japan Fully Open To Tourists And Not Babysitters!
First, The Not So Good News
In the Spring of 2022, residents of Japan were given a cautiously optimistic 85% chance by various agencies based in Japan and abroad that Japan would have fully open borders in September. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that on May 6, 2022 that Japan would ease border controls implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and bring them on par with other G-7 Nations. On May 26, 2022, Fumio-san said Japan would resume accepting tourists from overseas on June 10th. Unfortunately, due to the strictures related to the necessary paperwork required by hosts/guarantors, tour companies, and visitors/tourists to meet the requirements for entry, to date barely 8,000 tourists have entered Japan. In short, any visitors/tourists must be met at the airport gate by a host/guarantor or tour guide who will be waving a flag or placard, and they would accompany their host/guarantor or tour guide for the entire time spent in Japan, and your only free time would be in your lodgings. And if any tourists/visitors were found outside the designated lodgings, without their host/guarantor or tour guide, the participants could possibly be deported and fined, and your host/guarantor or tour guide or company could also be fined and possibly lose their business license. Also, the host/guarantor or tour company representative has to check each tour group staff member and participant daily for COVID-19 and report the test results as well as every activity listed on the supplied itinerary, and if even one participant in the group is COVID positive, everyone must immediately quarantine, ending the tour or photo workshop. Moreover, there are designated areas where visitors/tourists may visit, and these are mainly low traffic areas, but by contrast, there are zero restrictions on the general public in Japan. These rules and numerous others were supposed to be dispensed with by mid-summer, and Japan was geared up to open its international borders, but then the new variant BA.5 arrived in Japan. New COVID-19 cases in Japan are among the highest in the world, but once the current wave subsides, the Japanese government announced they will downgrade COVID-19 to the same category as the common flu.
Second, The GOOD NEWS
Japan should be open this autumn, possibly in late autumn for individual travelers who do not have to arrange travel like it was pre-internet, and be forced to book with selected travel agencies, selected by the governing body. Japan’s case fatality ratio (CFR) is one of the lowest in the world, and we have learned a lot in the past two years and have treatments, and, most importantly, a vaccine. Also, by October there will be an upgraded vaccine that will target the new variants. We have been told there will still be requirements for visitors/tourists to wear masks and possibly get tested upon arrival and possibly before departure, depending on your destination. Upon meeting participants at Haneda Airport or at other locations, I will be testing everyone, but not daily, and I will be providing proper PPE kits to all participants, included will be 3M N95 equivalent masks with fresh air vents; these are especially helpful in humid weather, and I will also provide N95 equivalent masks without fresh air vents for cooler weather. Plus I will provide plenty of alcohol sprays, safety googles if someone does not wear glasses already, and there will also be soaps, gels, latex gloves, and other safety measures included in the PPE kits, and these kits will be provided on all my Japan photography workshops, along with an in-depth written explanation on how not to contract c/19 during your Japan photo workshop.
On a final note, I sure am looking forward to getting back in the field with international friends and first time participants on my photography workshops.