Each year as the cherry blossom season concludes around the end of May, I begin thinking ahead to my annual Essence of Japan autumn leaves photography tour.  Autumn is truly a magical time.  The Japanese Maple tree among other species change colors to vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges, due to less daylight and cooling temperatures, definitely a reprieve from the summer heat.  Trees find a natural balance, and for over 25 years, I have been exploring, scouting, and have led countless Japan photo tours, while enjoying Shinrin yoku (森林浴), or forest bathing, to refresh the mind and spirit of my participants, my team, and me.  

Millions upon millions of tourists descend on Japan for autumn leaves viewing.  Thankfully, about 99% of tourists will stick to the beaten path and visit spots such as: Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Kanazawa, and other places they found while searching the web for the authentic Japanese experience, but thankfully most tourists use public transportation such as bullet trains, subways and taxis.  My annual Essence of Autumn photo tour is fully inclusive with business class seating, and we avoid international tourist pollution, visiting mainly places that only us locals are known to visit.  In fall, the colored leaves from the forests and glades surrounding Fujisan on the Mt. Fuji Photo Tours as well as in the Kyoto and Osaka area transform into their fall colors, which are famous all over the world.  Lately, however, on the beaten path locations like Kyoto, Osaka, Fuji-Kawaguchiko among others have been experiencing some of the worst tourist pollution the country has ever seen, and locations near those I include on my annual Mt. Fuji Autumn Leaves photography workshop tours are taking steps to reduce the amount of tourist pollution.  On the slip side, most spots we visit on all of my Japan photo tours, do not offer bilingual staff to serve international guests.  Simply, they have enough domestic tourism and do not seek out the international tourists, as non-Japanese tourists will have trouble communicating and understanding Japanese customs.  On my Japan photo workshops, I introduce participants to authentic Japan, such as authentic dinners, tea ceremony, Japanese festivals, among others and I explain to my participants cultural norms before before we attend.   About 95% of my clients’ visit to Japan is about photography, and in autumn, Japan has it all: magical autumn leaves in rich reds, vibrant oranges, and sparkling golds.  The landscapes are magical, especially when juxtaposed with ancient Zen Buddhist sanctuaries.  One thing I always carry with me is the ‘beginner’s mindset’. 

In Zen Buddhism we call the beginner’s mindset, ‘Shoshin,' which means having an attitude of openness and lack of preconceptions when approaching any study, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would.  For as long as I can remember, I have striven to maintain the beginner's mindset.  I have visited ancient sacred locations such as Kofun Mounds, the most ancient Buddhist sanctuaries, Shinto shrines, Mt. Fuji, Hokkaido, actually I have visited all Japans forty seven prefectures and photographed autumn leaves more times than I can count, and every time I return to locations previously visited I am happy, eager with enthusiasm and curiosity to experience a new perspective.  Japanese dogma has made “Zen” a household word known around the world, and Japan’s aesthetics are drawn inspirationally from elements of nature and Buddhist philosophies.  The art of traditional Japanese architecture and gardens with their aesthetically pleasing elegant simplicity has inspired and fascinated artisans for generations. The spiritual master Shunryu Suzuki who was born a short drive from my photography studio in Kanagawa once said “Whatever you do is Zen. That is why I like Zen. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts’ there are few.”  Even though I’ve led Japan Autumn photo workshops for more than 25 years, I approach each part of my workshop with the beginner’s mindset, such as when my Japan photo tour is in the valley of the dragons in the territories surrounding Mt. Fuji.  Shinto priests, who are now some of my closest friends, have guided me along the ancient pilgrim's routes around Japan and Mount Fuji, routes that hold countless ancient shrines and temples and that are said to be the primary power points around Japan and Fujisan.  I have chosen to include some of the locations on my Autumn Leaves Mt. Fuji power spot workshop tour.  The first is one of the holiest Shinto shrines built in the year 810.  And the second occurs during the golden hour, in a sea of clouds, and is one of the most spiritual and dramatic alpine landscape photography experiences on our planet. Other highlights of my annual Essence of Autumn Leaves photo tour include snow monkeys, brilliant Japan autumn leaves landscapes in the land of the rising sun, exploring ancient Buddhist and Shinto Sanctuaries, pilgrimage routes.  Plus we visit maple red leaves corridor for illumination of autumn trees, plus various other illumination events across Japan.  On our journey we follow the footsteps taken by the Shogun, Samurai, Artisans, Geisha, those seeking enlightenment, and those going on medical retreats to soak in the healing mineral hot springs, that have been used for thousands of years and have been known to cure a variety of ailments.