Essence of Autumn Japan Photography Tour October 26 - November 6, 2026. This Japan autumn photo tour is fully inclusive from our Meet and Greet to the time we drop you off, seating is business class.
Small Group Six Participants Max 6.
Over 90% of this all inclusive Cross Country Autumn Leaves Japan Photography workshop tour is off the beaten path to avoid tourist pollution. Amateurs and pros are welcome. Pick up and drop off at Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND)! Photograph Japan’s most brilliant Red Maple Leaf trees in Niigata, Nagano, Yamanashi, Toyama, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka Prefectures, Japan, plus other vibrant colored tree species and plants dressed in autumn. On this Japan cross country photo expedition safari, we will cover a lot of ground and sights, a few highlights include up close encounters with the Snow Monkeys, Maple leaf corridor in Mt. Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes, plus jade gorge, the sea of clouds in the valley of the dragons Niigata, Japan, plenty of waterfalls, plus much much more. Remember about 90% of this Japan Autumn leaves business class photography workshop takes place in authentic Japan, where few westerners travel. Come Experience and Photograph Untouched Authentic Japan🇯🇵!
Day 1 - 5, Arrival and meet Tokyo Haneda Airport, (HND), place to be announced to participants. We will journey as the artisans we are, with camera in hand along the most spectacular autumn-colored pilgrim’s route on our planet. Buddhist monks, samurai, artisans, as well as The Ainu, The First Nation’s People of Japan, have pilgrimaged the same route for thousands of years. After our meet and greet on day one we depart for Niigata and our adventure begins in the highlands region of Yuzawa Japan. Beautiful highlands and autumn leaves await you. Perfectly composed natural scenery with the still waters framed with scintillating Japanese Maples in red, yellow, and orange await you, and, to further enhance your visual experience, you will gaze upon the Japanese Purple Maple. The next morning will include a trip to spectacular rice terraces for a photographic encounter during the blue into the golden hour sunrise. Hoshitouge Tanada is one of the five most beautiful rice terraces in all of Japan. In the span of one hour, from blue hour to sunrise, your view of the rice terraces will dramatically change. The sky will slowly brighten from a dark blue to brilliant orange, but the mountains, forests, and the terraces themselves will remain shrouded in fog banks. As the sunlight reaches the valley, the fog slowly dissipates, and the radiance of the sun dispels the magic of the valley of dragons, and the trappings of humanity reappear. The next stop will be Akiyamago. Blocked by the steep Nakatsu River Valley, development has been delayed here, making it a secluded region steeped in the traditional, old-fashioned way of life. The natural seclusion provided protection for outcasts who fled from the forces of the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. See the modern day incarnation of this immaculately preserved natural habitat. Your photos will be separated with the higher altitudes yielding snow-capped peaks and the lower portion and foreground of your photos will be graced with autumn leaves. Plus we will visit one of my favorite spots in the Niigata highlands, our highlands vantage point overlooks a valley over twenty (meters?) in length. In the morning, fog and clouds form to create the sea of clouds, and the hamlets, hills and trees are covered in the sea of clouds, and as the clouds and fog move and grow thicker and thinner, the hills, trees appear similar to Sea-Stacks in the Ocean, and the hamlets below have a mystical glow.
Day 6 & 7, After our adventures in the Yuzawa region and the Sea of Clouds in the valley of the dragons, we will take a meandering scenic route to the Myoko Mountain Range boarding Nagano, where you will have the opportunity to experience the traditional Japanese community lifestyle. We will follow the paths laid out in the oral traditions, rediscovering the myths and legends in the present day. After days of focusing our photographic energies on waterfalls, ponds, ancient pilgrims sanctuaries and exploring one of the most beautiful forests in all of Japan, you may wish to rejuvenate yourself by soaking in the milky white healing hot springs onsen, before dining and toasting with Japan’s most famous and smooth tasting sake.
Day 8 & 9, The Japanese macaque is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Jigokudani Yaen Koen was established in 1964 in the highlands forest of the Jigokudani valley in Yamanouchi, and to this day, the location offers a unique experience to photograph and visit with these wild Japanese macaques. We will enter Snow Monkeys territory in Jigokudani Joshinetsu-Kogen National Park, where you will have up-close and personal encounters with wild Japanese macaques as they relax in the hot springs to offset the cool autumn temperatures, and the time you spend there will be at the peak of mating season. These are not docile primates as you see during the winter due to the cold temperatures. The mating instinct is running high in the snow monkeys, and your workshop instructors Blain, Manami, and Gaku will have you prepared for this once in a lifetime encounter.
Day 10 & 11, For centuries, artisans have been mesmerized by Mount Fuji and its breathtaking beauty. Autumn is especially mesmerizingly beautiful, with lavish displays of vibrant fall foliage and the legendary Japanese maple tree in red-yellow and orange. By daylight or moonlight, Blain guarantees that Mount Fuji will capture your heart and imagination, that no one picture that you take will express the zen emotion that will overcome you. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but it will take a thousand pictures to express your one emotion of photographing autumn in Mount Fuji.
Day 12, After breakfast at our lodgings near Mt. Fuji, drop off and departure at Tokyo Haneda International Airport, (HND). Thank you for your participation and we look forward to our next adventure together.
Why Choose this Photography Tour/Workshop?
☞Any level of photographer is welcome
☞All camera formats are welcome: digital, handy-cams, scoping with iPhone large format, film, etc
☞Professional photo instruction available when requested
☞Photograph Japanese cultural and architectural masterpieces
☞Visit the Snow Monkeys without dealing with the freezing cold
☞Activity level varying from leisurely to moderate
☞Provided transportation: Sports Utility Vehicles with Business Class Seating
☞Small group size means quality, in-depth time with your workshop leader
☞All questions are welcome and encouraged throughout your adventure
☞Each morning and evening, we will discuss our best shooting options with our weather conditions in hand, so that we will be well prepared
Tour Cost: $9500 USD
Single Supplement: $1400 USD
Not Included: Flights to JPN and from JPN, alcohol beverages, travel health insurance, lunches, items of a personal nature.
General Enrollments Information for Adventure/Workshops
by Instructor/Teacher of Photography Blain Harasymiw.
A deposit of USD$1000 per persons, will reserve a place for you on one of our tours/workshops.
Or you can simply pay in full now.
