Hi r/japanpics!
Three of my favourite photos I have taken across Japan over the years. All shot on personal visits before I settled in Osaka.
📷 Photo 1 — Kamogawa River, Kyoto (autumn)
The Kamogawa riverbank in Kyoto in late autumn is one of those places that looks almost too perfect to be real. The combination of the fiery red and orange foliage against the pale river and the mountains in the distance — and the fact that locals are just casually sitting on benches and cycling past as if it is completely normal — is something I find endlessly charming about Japan. Nobody is performing for the camera. Life is just happening and it happens to be extraordinarily beautiful. This one was taken on my iPhone by the way — sometimes the best camera really is the one you have with you.
📷 Photo 2 — Blue Pond (Aoike), Biei, Hokkaido
I will be honest — this is probably the most stereotypical Blue Pond photo you will ever see. The composition is not particularly original and anyone who has been there has likely taken almost the same shot from the same spot. But I still love it and the reason is simple — the colour tone across the whole image is exactly what I wanted to capture. That specific quality of light on the turquoise water against the silver birch trees on that particular day is what makes it mine. The Blue Pond colour is completely natural by the way — caused by aluminium hydroxide particles reflecting blue light — which makes it even more remarkable that it looks almost artificially perfect.
📷 Photo 3 — Oirase Stream, Aomori
Oirase is probably the least well known of the three outside Japan but it is one of the most quietly beautiful places I have visited in the country. This photo was taken around 8 to 9 years ago when I was still at the stage of happily hauling a tripod and several heavy lenses through a forest for the right shot. I would not do that nowadays — my back has opinions about it — but I am glad I did then because the long exposure was essential to capture the silky motion of the water properly. The stream runs for about 14 kilometres through a pristine forest in Towada-Hachimantai National Park and the combination of the flowing water, moss-covered rocks and dense green canopy gives the whole valley an almost prehistoric feel. The actual current is surprisingly strong for something that looks so serene.
All three are very different in character — the warm everyday life of Kyoto, the eerie stillness of Hokkaido, the raw energy of Aomori — but they all capture something I genuinely love about Japan which is how effortlessly the country moves between the intimate and the spectacular. Hope you enjoy them 😊
by Maleficent-Flow2693