Cultural Photography Tours & Trips in Japan

This 10-day trip focuses on photography at some great spots like Arashiyama's bamboo forest at dawn and Kyoto's Ryoanji Temple rock garden. You'll capture Mount Fuji's reflection over Lake Ashi from a pirate ship cruise and frame shots of Nara's sacred deer at Todaiji Temple with the Great Buddha.

Photograph Tadao Ando's work at Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House on Naoshima Island, featuring pieces by Monet and James Turrell. Capture the gold-leaf exterior of Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion reflecting over pond waters in Kyoto, then document Kurashiki's Bikan Historical Quarter with willow-lined canals and the Ohara Museum with works by El Greco and Renoir.

Capture the red torii gates at Fushimi-Inari Shrine in Kyoto during early morning light, then photograph the golden Kinkaku-ji Temple surrounded by gardens. Wander through Arashiyama's towering bamboo groves and document traditional tea ceremonies in Gion's geisha district. You'll also see Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum and Osaka Castle.

Head to Fushimi Inari Shrine to photograph the vermillion torii gates—over 10,000 of them create winding pathways up the mountain, and you might recognize them from Memoirs of a Geisha. Later you'll visit Kinkakuji Temple where the golden pavilion covered in shimmering gold leaf makes for great shots, then wander through Arashiyama's serene bamboo groves.

Get great photos of the floating Torii Gate at Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island with the Seto Inland Sea behind it. On Naoshima Island you'll find Yayoi Kusama's giant yellow pumpkin sculpture and modern art at the Art House Project. Take a rickshaw through Kyoto's Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, then head to Fushimi Inari Shrine where thousands of red torii gates line the paths.