March 14, 2015 was a watershed moment in Japan and changed Kanazawa and Niigata Photo Tours.  The Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended to Toyama and Kanazawa became more accessible as a tourist attraction than ever before.  Kanazawa Photo Tours spiked in popularity, and this carried a sweeping affect across the city and all parts of the prefecture touched by extended shinkansen line.  More than 20 years experience leading Photo Tours and Workshops in Japan means having perspective and being aware of changes to the landscape and working environment.  Our guides remember before the 2015 that ryokans (traditional Japanese-style inns) were affordable.  The rating of accommodation varied, but making a reservation for approximately 10,000 yen per night was common.  Now, the same Japanese-style inn’s average room rate has skyrocketed to nearly triple the previous amount.

We at Japan Dreamscapes (JDS) understand the appeals of Kanazawa.  Kanazawa Castle is undergoing an extensive reconstruction to restore its glory, and the cherry blossoms on the grounds are truly beautiful.  Moreover, Kenroku-en Garden near the castle holds photographic opportunities for all seasons.  However, the costs for a Kanazawa Photo Tour have gotten prohibitively expensive.  Our JDS Photography Workshop Leaders are constantly surveying Japan’s landscape so they are aware of what changes are coming, and as soon as they caught wind of the shinkansen extension, they started feverishly working on developing alternative photo tour possibilities.

This led to opening a satellite office in Niigata.  Niigata Photo Tours went beyond an equivalent to Kanazawa Photo Tours, they exceeded what Kanazawa Tours had to offer.  Niigata prefecture is home to far more than one castle.  Takada Castle is one of Japan’s Top 100 castles.  The grounds are overflowing with cherry blossoms during spring, and the contrasts between the castle and the blushing sakura make for once in a lifetime photo ops each year.  Takada Park surrounds the castle and offers even more glorious sakura to photograph.  Shibata Castle is another amazing testimony to samurai Japan as you see it rising out of the city limits on your way to Murakami toward the north of the prefecture with some of the most breathtaking seascape photography anywhere in Japan.  All of these elements together meant that we must stay and add Niigata Private Photo Tours to the existing JDS Photo Workshop annual offerings.

Instead of working around the waterlogged bullet trains of Kanazawa, why not see vibrant and resilient Niigata with JDS?