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Joe Steinbring

Japan

I have been to Japan twice. In September 2024, it was the first leg of a trip that went on to South Korea and Taiwan: Tokyo, Kamakura and the island of Enoshima in Fujisawa, Nara, and Kyoto, and then the overnight ferry from Osaka to Busan. I came back in July 2026 with my nephew, from Hiroshima to Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka, then north to Kanazawa and the thatched villages of Gokayama, in Nanto, and Shirakawa-go, and on to Tokyo, with day tours to the Mt Fuji area (Fujikawaguchiko, Oshino, and Fujiyoshida) and to Kamakura.

Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, and Oshino16 places · 64 photographs
Static offline map of Japan marking 16 visited places.

Places visited

Places I visited in Japan

  • Two antlered stags and a doe lie on stone paving by a stone railing, with trees behind.
    Nara’s deer, long held to be messengers of the gods, taking a morning rest.

    Nara

    The deer, the Great Buddha Hall at Todai-ji, a knife shop descended from swordsmiths, and the lanterns of Kasuga Taisha.

  • A path curving between towering stalks of bamboo, with a few visitors walking in the shade.
    The bamboo grove in Arashiyama, on the western edge of Kyoto.

    Kyoto

    The bamboo grove in Arashiyama, the Golden Pavilion, the stage at Kiyomizu-dera, and the monkeys on the hill above.

  • Giant billboards over a canal, among them a running man on a blue track, with lanterns above.
    Dotonbori, the canal at the heart of Osaka’s nightlife, by day.

    Osaka

    The signs along Dotonbori, an evening in Shinsekai, a capybara, and Triangle Park in Amerikamura.

  • A two-legged stone lantern on the bank of a garden pond, with pines and clipped shrubs beyond.
    The Kotoji lantern, the emblem of Kenroku-en, one of the three great gardens of Japan.

    Kanazawa

    The Kotoji lantern and the Meiji Memorial in Kenroku-en, an old street corner, and a garden below the castle walls.

  • The ruined dome and walls of an old building on a riverbank, with modern buildings behind it.
    The Atomic Bomb Dome, left as it stood after August 6, 1945.

    Hiroshima

    The Atomic Bomb Dome from across the river and from above, the hypocenter, and the Peace Memorial Museum.

  • A giant seated bronze Buddha, green with age, on a stone base in a sunny paved courtyard.
    The Great Buddha, in the open air since a tsunami swept away its hall in 1498.

    Kamakura

    The Great Buddha at Kotoku-in, prayer wheels and stone figures at Hase-dera, and the Enoden by the sea.

  • A steep thatched farmhouse above terraced rice paddies in a green mountain valley.
    Ainokura, one of the thatched villages that share a World Heritage listing with Shirakawa-go.

    Nanto

    A thatched farmhouse above the rice paddies of Ainokura, a washi papermaker, and the woodcarvers’ town of Inami.

  • A bright green rice paddy beside a thatched farmhouse, with mountains under a clear sky.
    Rice still grows between the houses in Ogimachi, Shirakawa-go’s main village.

    Shirakawa-go (Shirakawa)

    Thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses among the rice paddies of Ogimachi, the temple of Myozen-ji, and its museum of village life.

  • A young man plays an arcade drum game, its screen of scrolling notes flanked by anime musicians.
    The Taito Station arcade in Akihabara, Tokyo’s district of electronics, anime, and games.

    Chiyoda City (Tokyo)

    An arcade in Akihabara, a Kyushu ramen counter, a shop full of Pokémon, and the brick arches of the old Manseibashi Station.

  • A vast city of towers and apartment blocks stretching into haze under an orange sunset sky.
    Sunset over Tokyo from Tokyo Tower.

    Minato City (Tokyo)

    Tokyo Tower and the view from it at sunset, and an early-morning walk through the side streets of Akasaka.

  • A wide blue bay curving to a coastal city, a small harbor, and a bridge, seen over treetops.
    Looking back to the mainland from the Enoshima Sea Candle.

    Fujisawa

    An afternoon on Enoshima: the view from the Sea Candle, the Kunming Pavilion, and octopus crackers pressed whole.

  • Two sumo wrestlers grapple in the ring beside a referee in a patterned robe, the arena packed.
    The September 2024 Grand Sumo Tournament at the Kokugikan.

    Sumida City (Tokyo)

    A day at the September Grand Sumo Tournament: the ring at the Kokugikan, portraits of the champions, and a photo booth.

  • People wait at a wide zebra crossing ringed by billboards and glass towers, under a cloudy sky.
    The Scramble Crossing, where the lights stop the traffic in every direction at once.

    Shibuya City (Tokyo)

    The Scramble Crossing, the statue of Hachiko outside Shibuya Station, and Meiji Jingu in its forest.

  • A field of lavender in bloom in front of a lake, with forested hills and big white clouds beyond.
    Lavender on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, late that morning.

    Fujikawaguchiko

    A lavender garden on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, a green-and-lavender soft-serve cone, and roses under clouds that hid the mountain.

  • A red five-story pagoda rising from green trees above a hazy city under a cloudy sky.
    The five-story Chureito Pagoda above Fujiyoshida, with the mountain hidden in cloud.

    Fujiyoshida

    The five-story Chureito Pagoda above a city under cloud, the red torii and hall of the shrine below it, and a rainbow train covered in Thomas and Friends.

  • A wooden water wheel beside a thatched house over a pond, with crowds and a small bridge beyond.
    The water wheel at Oshino Hakkai, with the crowd that comes to see it, early that afternoon.

    Oshino

    The water wheel and thatched house at Oshino Hakkai, the wooden gears of an old mill, and a spring-fed pond clear to its turquoise bottom.

Recent travel photos from Japan