Today we're sharing a message from our lead Japan Photography Workshop Guide.

Thank you all again for your kindness and well wishes. I am so relieved all of my family, friends, and co-workers are safe and sound.   Cleanup efforts are underway, and the losses and extent of damages are coming to light.  Across Japan, over 200 rivers breached their banks/overflowed.  Levees burst on over 50 rivers, causing flood damage to tens of thousands of houses across Japan.  There have been over 150 mudslides reported as of today.  The full extent of the damage is still being assessed. 

Sadly, Fukushima Prefecture saw the highest number of human casualties, 18 at the most recent count; my thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Fukushima.   Up until 2011, Fukushima Prefecture was known at Tokyo’s food belt, but since 2011 and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster and the exploding reactor spewing radioactive materials into the atmosphere and contaminating the region's fertile agricultural soil, this is no longer plausible.   Regrettably, Tokyo and neighboring prefectures were also contaminated.  But the Sea of Japan and residents just 100km away in Niigata Prefecture had approximately 90% less radioactive contamination than Tokyo due to the alpine habitats acting as a natural barrier between Fukushima and The Sea Of Japan.   Actually, Niigata and The Sea Of Japan side of Japan has less contamination in the ocean waters than on the Pacific Ocean side of Canada and the USA.

Super Typhoon Hagibis hit Fukushima hard, and the 150 km/hour wind speeds tore across the small town of Tamura where several 1-cubic meter bags used to collect greenery after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami were stored.  We are just now learning that hundreds possibly thousands of these storage bags containing highly nuclear-contaminated soil have been washed into river systems, and bags stored along the Pacific coastline were washed into the Pacific Ocean, hampering cleanup efforts and workers safety as far away as neighboring prefectures.  The Sea Of Japan has been excluded from this fallout due to its natural alpine barrier.   Always being aware of my surroundings and safety, this is where I have set up another satellite office.  Moreover, my family lives in that office most of the year.  I moved my family several years ago due to my concerns and stress over water and food safety in the Kanto Region.  Ironically, we are closer to the Fukushima nuclear plant then we were in Tokyo, but again due to the natural alpine barrier, we are actually safer.

Whether it’s my family’s safety or clients visiting Japan on photography tours, safety is always my number one concern.  Of course, I hold myself to the same level of safety and security when I’m  traveling and photographing abroad alone.

As a final word of caution, as I mentioned in my previous newsletter, if you want to take a photography adventure tour safely anywhere in the world, make sure you travel with an experienced adventurer who has a full team and has logged at least months, preferably years in the region’s where you are planning your itinerary. Your leader should understand the weather patterns for the four seasons and have knowledge of emergency evacuation procedures, being prepared for anything that could happen.

Also, there’s an unwritten rule that professionals, especially professional photographers that we don’t openly detract from colleagues. However, there are cases where something has to be said to protect our industry and the integrity of the adventurer visual artists who have logged the requisite hours in a certain region to make sure the client is safe. I wouldn’t want to visit Papua New Guinea with a person who had only explored the location for a week under the guidance of a well-trained, veteran travel adventurer. There are hazards such as head hunters, insects, wild animal attacks, and the rarest, natural disasters, or the more common bad weather can come rolling in fast, and if you’re not ready, you’ll be caught with your pants “down,” not joking.  Recently, I am seeing a disturbing trend in ‘tourist’ photo leadership, guides who simply don’t seem prepared for scenarios where client safety could be tested.  Safety should always be the No. 1 priority.

I hope you choose Japan for your next photography adventure workshop tour, and know you will be in good hands.