A photographic journey to Japan
Without a doubt, a trip to the land of the rising sunis a transformative experience from every point of view for anyone who dares to take it on.
As a photographer, I found the shots I had always been looking for and color combinations you would never think could be real. Fantastic landscapes, modern high-tech buildings, legendary temples and, above all, uniquely special people in their own particular way of being.
In Japan you always get the feeling that you are on another planet. Not because everything is different from the world we know, but because they do things differently from what we are used to. The blend of deep spirituality with the highest technology, the respect for nature, the huge yet well-kept cities, are some of those aspects.
In Japan you can find a lot of things. The island, although not very big, has a large number of cities and towns, and each one of them is a tourist attraction in itself.
My stay was a short getaway, so I could only spend 9 days there. And I made the most of them as best I could.
First must-see stop: Tokyo. It is the capital and there is a lot of magic waiting to be discovered. And without a doubt, one experience I did not want to miss there was spending a couple of nights in the famous “capsule hotels”.
Tokyo is vast and huge. And although I always try to compare it with New York, looking for similarities and differences, the truth is that it has more differences than similarities.
There are many main neighborhoods in Tokyo, which are like small cities, and when you are short on time, the key is to combine several of them in one day to cover as much as possible.
Temples in the middle of the city, streets with neon lights everywhere, the great Tokyo Tower to take in the whole city, the magical Shibuya crossing (the busiest in the world), the anime and Otaku district, getting lost in the streets in the rain as autumn draws near. You find all of that in one single city.
After leaving the capital, taking the bullet train (Shinkansen) to Kyoto, the imperial city in Edo times, was a change in photographic terms. A place where history is present at every step and spirituality and rituals blossom on every corner.
You never leave the Japanese craziness behind, but you do start venturing into other, even quieter places, more connected with nature and with spirituality itself.
Kyoto, besides being very touristy, holds endless temples, attractions and beautiful places that can drive any photographer crazy.
It also gives you the chance to use it as a base and take day trips to different places.
My trip was in November, so full autumn was gently taking over every corner of the island. The ancient temples range from ornate to simple, but between their characteristic brown and red tones and the autumn trees dressed in red, orange and yellow, they reflected a dreamlike place.
Taking a day trip to Nara and spending the afternoon among the deer, getting lost in the woods, always looking for the perfect shot. Deer are sacred in Japan, and in Nara in particular they roam freely in every corner of the city and the woods, always keeping an eye on the tourists who smile and offer them crackers.
To close the trip, after taking six trains and a cable car from Kyoto, I headed up the mountain in search of the cradle of Buddhism.
Koyasan, or Mount Koya, is the cradle of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. Many pilgrims go there after climbing the mountain to continue their spiritual search and learning. Countless temples shape the landscape. The experience there is to spend the night in a Buddhist temple, eat the vegan food they offer you and get up very early in the morning to witness, and take part in, the Buddhist prayer ceremony.
And as the great attraction of Mount Koya, hidden among the tall conifers, there is an almost Dantesque labyrinth. A maze of tombs and sacred arches stretching several hundred meters among the trees. It is one of the largest cemeteries in Japan, and amid the silence and peace, all that is left is admiration. Admiration for this country, its history and its culture.
I take home a wonderful memory of Japan, from a trip I made completely on my own, launching myself into the unknown and always camera in hand in search of the perfect shot.