Some ask me why I stopped adding Kyoto or the Kansai region to my Mt. Fuji Autumn Leaves Japan Photo tours or my Essence of Autumn Photo Tour, where forest bathing shinrin yoku is a daily experience.  I simply tell them, myself and the majority of my clients don’t like being elbow to elbow with tourists.  And in recent years, we have seen an influx of tourists who think it’s okay to stop/grab a maiko or geisha on the street to get a selfie, and in some cases, geishas’ homes, tea houses, and okiyas have been invaded just to get a selfie.  Wow!  The tourism harassment problem has become so prevalent, that the Japanese police have coined a phrase, “tourism pollution.”  “Tourism pollution” is a huge problem on the tourist beaten path, especially in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Kanazawa. Kanazawa used to be off the beaten path until a new bullet train line opened in 2015.  Just to give you an idea about how Kanazawa has changed, a couple staying at a 2-3 star hotel in 2014, before the bullet train line opened would pay $200, but now the price has skyrocketed to $500.  The only reason that the Kanazawa area is being pushed so hard and the rates have doubled or tripled for lodgings and amenities is to recoup the trillions of yen spent extending the bullet train line to Kanazawa, which is partially subsidized by taxpayers.  Large companies trying to recover the costs of the shinkansen brought my time enjoying horseback riding in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to mind.  I had some good friends who were barrel racers and aces at roping, so I know what herding cattle looks like, and that is precisely what is happening with all the advertisements, driving the tourists onto the beaten path in Kanazawa, countless people drawn in by the siren’s call of ‘authentic Japan’, which is not necessarily a bad thing, because there are English speaking staff and some amazing locations.  However, for those looking for the authentic Japanese experience, younger adventurers generally go out on their own, and spend months backpacking, hiking, or cycling, exploring because they don’t have a tight time schedule, so they can afford open ended excursions throughout Japan, including the deep backcountry, but that’s rare.  For those who are serious about photography and actively use their day planner, they join one of my Japan photo workshops, someone else’s, or they go on a different international photo adventure.  Anyone knows the best way to see a country is with an experienced pro photographer.  By the way, I still go to Kyoto, but I only do exclusively private workshops there where we book lodgings at shrines and temples, only venturing out in the early mornings or evenings.  During the day, when all the tourists are out and about, I advise my clients to stay in and refresh themselves with onsen visits or some of the region’s delicious matcha green tea.  Once the sun goes down, my participants, team members, and I indulge in garden parties, low lighting photography, or another evening photography experience.

I prefer to stay away from tourists and the rigamarole that goes with it, but if I have to jump in where the tourists are, I am going to go to places I know like the back of my hand.  As I mentioned above, I usually avoid cities and regions where I know it’s next to impossible to avoid the tourists like Kyoto and places in Tokyo, unless I do night tours, and even then it can be hit or miss.  That’s why I stick to my home regions of Hokkaido, the sea of Japan, Kanto Japan, which includes the Mt. Fuji region.  Fujisan is the iconic symbol of Japan, and for some reason, non-locals and the uninitiated in traveling and photographing in Japan think it’s easy to get to and navigate.  You can get there by bus or train, but you’ll be limited to 1-2 of the Fuji Five Lakes, and that won’t be authentic Japan.  You’ll be led to or roped into the tourist areas as in Kanazawa because the English texts are only available for the highest traffic areas.  The towns and villages that my clients and I visit don’t have the information for the tourists because they have enough locals visiting, so no need to cater to international tourists.  Those are the places I prefer.  That’s authentic Japan, not where you have 1,000 foreigners in one place, sharing the same experience and the same photos.  That’s not Japan, that’s being herded like cattle into an area for the sake of pooling tourism dollars.

While in southern Japan, by rule of thumb, I follow the ancient pilgrimage routes.  Perhaps the most famous Kyushu pilgrimage is the Sasaguri pilgrimage.  This pilgrimage route was established in 1835 by a monk who had completed the Shikoku pilgrimage and wanted to create a local version that was shorter for those individuals that simply couldn’t complete the longer Shikoku pilgrimage.  When I trekked this pilgrim’s route, I noticed several country roads and narrow lanes but next to no traffic, and the temples are easily accessible as part of the pilgrimage experience to say nothing of the amount of statues that are viewable on the temple grounds.  Probably the most famous pilgrimage route is the 88 temple Shikoku pilgrimage.  The entire route spans more than 1,000 kilometers and would take about six weeks to complete.  The present incarnation of the Shikoku pilgrimage route is believed to have been formed as early as the 16th century, but it traces its history back to the 9th century as one of Japan’s ancient philosopher’s Kukai (Kobo Daishi) trained his ascetic ways on a similar course.  This is only the tip of the spiritual iceberg.  The Kumano Kodo is a network of several different paths that all coalesce into one huge spiritual adventure.  The Kumano Kodo has been used for over a millennium as emperors, samurai, artisans, geisha, and townspeople would use these paths seeking a measure of spiritual enlightenment.  Nearly all the pilgrims took part in strict religious rites to purify their spirits, and the surrounding areas are patchworks of breathtaking landscapes, wildlife photography, and glimpses into Japan’s rich historic past.  As an amateur historian and Japan local, I’m happy to discuss any of Japan’s ancient pilgrim’s routes as we explore them and stop to enjoy photography.  In 2004, the Kumano Kodo was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site cementing its spiritual importance to Japan and to the entire world.  So when I’m not concentrating on my home regions, I become a pilgrim indulging in spiritual enlightenment and scouting at the same time.