At present, I’m visiting one of Japan’s valleys of the dragons, leading my annual Autumn Leaves Power Spot expedition photography workshop, introducing my participants to some of the spirituality for which Japan is famous.  For nearly 25 years, I have been leading a Japan photo tour 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 Mount Fuji, routes that hold several ancient shrines and temples and that are said to be the primary power points around Fujisan.  I have chosen to include some of the locations on my Autumn Leaves Mt. Fuji power spot workshop tour: 1) One of the holiest Shinto shrines built in the year 810 atop of a sacred mountain peak. To get there, we’ll be hiking 1,000 meters up, but this adventure will be for true adventurers, as we will be using mountain ski style poles in both hands with spikes that can dig into the mud and rock for traction to be able to traverse the terrain safely.  2) During the golden hour, if the jagged mountain valley ranges are blanketed in a sea of clouds, it will be the most spiritual and dramatic alpine landscape photography on our planet, so I hope the weather will be in our favor.  This adventure doesn’t happen every time, as the hike is optional.  It mostly happens on private photography workshops.

The Mt. Fuji part of our Japan photo workshop begins right away for golden hour photography with Japan’s most sacred mountain which also happens to be an active volcano.  For centuries, photographers, artisans, international visitors, really anyone has been mesmerized by Mount Fuji and its breathtaking beauty.  Autumn is especially beautiful, with lavish displays of vibrant fall foliage and the legendary Japanese maple tree in red, yellow, and orange, and my participants will see all of this and more.   The Fuji Five Lakes will also be on our itinerary, and participants will be in the rare 5% of people who have seen all the Fuji five lakes, as over 98% of Japanese have not.  WOW!   By daylight or moonlight, I guarantee that Mount Fuji will capture your heart and imagination, and that no one picture that you take will capture the rich emotion that Mount Fuji provides. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, it will take a thousand pictures to express your one complete emotion of photographing autumn in Mount Fuji.  And in the evening, we will toast to another amazing day of the Japanese wildlife landscape autumn leaves photography tour.

Hakone is a two-hour drive from Mt. Fuji, so once we are done photographing Japan’s volcanic power spot, we will spend a day or more depending on weather conditions exploring Hakone.  Before the start of Edo 1603, Hakone had flourished as a favorite destination for its natural mineral hot spring spas known for their healing properties. We will stroll on the original four hundred-year-old stone pavements along the Tokaido highway through cedar avenue, and drop in for tea time at Amazake Chaya serving travelers, samurai, and visual artists for more than 350 years, and is the last of its kind remaining in Japan.