Niigata Photo Tours meant opening a new chapter for Japan Dreamscapes.  Having more than 20 years experience living and working in Japan, one thing the Japan Dreamscapes (JDS) Photo Tour Leaders and Guides are privy to is trends and subtle changes in Japan Photo Tours.

Case in point, Kanazawa Photo Tours used to be large part of the annual photo tour schedule, and the lodging prices were reasonable, making the beautiful landscapes and nature photography even more appealing because of how easy it was to stay in the area and affordably set up base camp essentially anywhere that was required.

Before JDS’s most seasoned photo workshop leader set up the first permanent office in Japan, in the year 1997, the wheels of change started in the Nagano and Kanazawa ares.  The shinkansen, or bullet train, went to Nagano ahead of the Winter Olympics scheduled to be there in 1998, and more recently, in 2015, the bullet train line was extended, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen line ended in Kanazawa.  Now, the reasonably priced hotels and ryokans, or traditional Japanese-style inns have tripled in price.  Now, if this had occurred with a concomitant increase in the amenities and the service offered at the hotels, this would be an acceptable modification.  Unfortunately, the only large modification was the final station of the shinkansen.

So, what has JDS done in response?  We’ve set our sights and viewfinders on different locations for Japan Photo Tours on locations that are still off the beaten path but won’t impact our clients’ bottom line.  The quality of our Japan Photo Tours is better than ever before, as JDS makes use of more experience in Japan.  We founded a new office in Niigata, so we could uncover all the photo ops that this prefecture has to offer as well as being closer to Hokkaido, making the winter photo tours in Hokkaido much easier to access.  Why not join a photo tour in 2019 and see some of Niigata’s photographic treasures?