I am currently leading my annual cross-country cherry blossom photography workshop tour extension.   For close to thirty years, I have adventured on ancient pilgrimage routes off the beaten path to experience authentic Japan.  These ancient pilgrimage routes are especially engaging for those who wish to experience authentic Japanese society, culture and Japanese aesthetics.  During my annual Essence of Autumn Leaves Photograph tour and my Essence of Spring Cherry Blossom photo tour, these ancient Japanese pilgrimage routes are essential, and only a handful know of them.  A good example is that for the past two weeks we have not run into other westerners and avoided tourist pollution.   A few days ago we flew from Aomori to Tokyo and drove to Hakone, spent a couple of days, then we moved onto Mt. Fuji and the fuji five lakes.   Hakone is one of Tokyoites favorite onsen getaways dating back to the Edo period.   In the region, there are several different varieties of cherry blossoms, the most common variety is the mamezakura (Prunus incisa), also known as the ‘Fuji cherry blossom’ because of how they flourish in the Hakone region.  These cherry blossoms are slightly smaller than their cherry blossom cousins the Somei yoshino (Prunus yedoensis), and the leaves of the tree are just as delicate, and we are celebrating spring Hakone style.  In the morning, we visited a vantage point in the Hakone highlands to photograph Mt. Fuji with picturesque Lake Ashinoko in the frame.  For sunset, we visited an old friend of mine, the concierge of the Zen meditation forest.  The concierge inhabits an ancient Buddhist Sanctuary, where there are countless master stone mason sculptures, done on site.  These masterpieces of stone sculpture are all of Zen Buddhist monks and nuns expressing every possible human facial expression and body pose, and all are placed with the natural environment of their interactions in mind.  I have photographed at this ancient site for over 20 years, and each time I visit, the light is always different, and I find new angles to capture these amazing works of art.  On a side note, Hakone is experiencing heavy tourist pollution, but as a local I can time the movement of the tourists and avoid them.  Plus, there are countless other spots we visit that are off the beaten path, and even a few that are on the beaten path, but it’s all about timing and how to avoid the rush.

When visiting and exploring Mt. Fuji, in years past, I included the Chureito pagoda and its iconic view as part of my workshop, a view which has graced more than a few picture postcards of the region.  Unfortunately, it’s fallen prey to tourist pollution as of late, and visiting photographers spend an hour or even longer standing shoulder to shoulder with other people queuing and then taking a photo that thousands upon thousands of other people already have.  

JUST IN HOT OFF THE PRESS BBC “Mount Fuji: iconic View to be blocked to deter tourists”.  Oh my goodness, I often pass the convenience store mentioned in the article, and just recently my team and I drove by and saw hundreds of tourists loitering in the parking lot, across the street, even spilling out on the streets.  Oh my, I thought Chureito Pagoda’s tourist pollution was bad, but this is next level silly!!!  WOW!!!  Don’t get me wrong, a photo of majestic Mt. Fuji with Chureito Pagoda and perfect blooming pink cherry blossoms make for beautiful photos, but I’d rather spend quality time with my participants introducing authentic Japan off the beaten path.  To ensure participants capture once in a lifetime photos, our typical day in the Mt. Fuji region starts well before dawn and continues into the evening.  We are concentrating on over 90% landscapes.  Locations we are visiting on this segment of my annual Cherry Blossom photography tour always provide once in a lifetime gallery worthy pictures.  Plus participants are not waiting hours or standing shoulder to shoulder experiencing heavy tourist pollution.  Some of the shrines and temples we are visiting are over a millennium old and have hundreds of Somei yoshino (Prunus yedoensis) and several other cherry blossom varieties.  My annual Japan cherry blossom photo tour experience at Mt. Fuji also includes birding photography as part of it.  Today we visited with the Mute swan (Cygnus olor), which is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae.  Golden hour is always a favorite moment at Mt. Fuji, as we never know what shade of color the snow-capped volcano will turn in the glorious sunrise.  Some mornings it turns a bright red, which is known as 赤富士山 (aka fujisan) or red Mount Fuji in English, and other mornings we get pinks.  At other times, we can see more contrasting dark colors, but every sunrise at Mt. Fuji is unique.

In the coming days, I will be flying back to northern Japan to experience the perfect cherry blossoms in Japan’s northern highlands.  And I will be jumping back and forth from Tokyo to northern Japan till about mid May.  Then my family and I will take our summer break along the Sea of Japan, at our historical Japanese Samurai era Kominka.  Japanese Kominkas were built similar to Samurai castles that can be viewed while visiting authentic Japan.  Or you could watch the latest 'TV hit sensation mini series Shogun,' in which Osaka Castle is featured and is similarly built although on a much larger scale than my traditional samurai era Kominka, or traditional Japanese home.