Trip to Kyoto and Nara

[Jimbot]

Hello All,

I am travelling to the Osaka, Kyoto and Nara areas of Japan on holidays in a few weeks and am interested in taking a few half or full day tours of the famous gardens in that area. Does anyone have any experience/ suggestions?

Also, the timeless question - Which Camera(s) to Take?

I have a new Fujifilm X100 which is definitely getting a berth for point and shoot The other options are presently my Leica MP or M3 or, possibly the M9 ( I am a bit nervous taking such a valuable camera on basically a backpacking holiday and the X100 may be enough digital equipment), each using one or both of Summicron 35/2 and/or Summilux 50/2

Any suggestions would be most gratefully accepted.

 

[Jimbot]

Apologies, this thread may have been better suited to the "travel" forum.

 

[Neare]

Take whatever, don't be afraid to use the M's. You'll also see quite a lot of people using M's or other film cameras there and the crime rate is extremely low, there's not a lot of fear.
There are also plenty of places selling film or labs to process.

 

[LeicaFan]

Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. I would not hesitate to bring your M9 (or any other camera, for that matter).

When I was in Tokyo, my sister left a shopping bag in a public restroom. She realized about 20 minutes later and when she went back to check for it, sure enough, it was still there. Needless to say, the bag wouldn't have been there if that had happened in Los Angeles.

 

[jonmanjiro]

Yep, Japan is very safe and you'll probably spot quite a few photogs on the streets using more expensive gear than you. Just be careful if staying in backpacker hostels though. It's other travelers you should be aware of.

Sorry, can't help you with tour tips as I've never done any.

 

[Haigh]

Your gear should be safe there. I always take my M4 there. Kyoto and Nara are both lovely. Have a great time.

 

[flip]

I live in the Kansai area, and have given the Kyoto tour so many times my head spins. Far better place to visit than Nara for most people. Osaka would have the street shooting opportunities, but Kyoto can eat up days. If you give a day to each side of Kyoto (East / West), you should be quite happy. Start early, and remember than the temples / etc have closing times, but also sometimes have evening events. By bus, you should easily cover4 destinations or more on the East and by foot, you can have a great stroll through the more natural West. Try to hit Gion around sundown on the East day.

Oh, and on the East side day, get the bus pass in front of the station. Good deal and they can tell you about special events.

 

[nighstar]

i spent a day in Kyoto (went there via train from Osaka) and got absolutely NOTHING done that i had intended to do because i spent so much damn time taking photos at the one or two places that i did make it too! WAY too many things that are begging to be photographed.... i really regret having not gone back to Kyoto again to give it the time it really deserved and i had no excuse for not doing so as i lived in Japan at the time.

anyway, my advise: forget Nara, give Kyoto as much time as you can and make sure that you plan your itinerary realistically in terms of times. use public transportation unless you can avoid taking tons of photos while getting from point A to B or you may barely make it to B!

also, i've been to Osaka many times and it is AWESOME. give it lots of time too. 🙂

 

[Jimbot]

Thanks for all the great advice. Very much appreciated. Decision made. MP and M9 here we go!

 

[former member]

Just saw this- and moved to "Travel Section" as requested.

 

[dreilly]

I'll be in Kyoto in mid-October. So if our times overlap please feel free to leave that M9 in a public bathroom. Just let me know which one! 😉

Seriously, I will be in Japan during that time visiting some study abroad students in Hikone who are working on a blogging project. I hope to take them to Kyoto for a one day documentary field trip...the students might be interviewing, writing, photographing or videographing. I've never been to Japan, so while I can teach process I don't know much about the place or how to navigate it. If anyone has any specific suggestions on where to find a good tour guide for the day, I'm all eyes and it might help the OP as well.

Also another question with potential overlap with the OP:

What are your favorite places to photograph in Kyoto? What temples, gardens, streets, etc?

Thanks!
Doug

(I'll be bringing an R-D1--unless I sell it--and a Ricoh GXR M-module. 28/2, 35/1.2 and 50/1.4 lenses). Might even bring my trusty Olympus LC-1 (precursor to the SP with same 40/1.7 honey lens). The fate of the R-D1 is in the hands of the A12-M module and how handily I can learn to focus it.)

 

[Tim Gray]

I went to Nara and Kyoto for a conference about 9 months ago. I had a good time. Nara was cool, but I enjoyed Kyoto more. I know it's touristy stuff, but I thought Fushima Inari shrine and Ginkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto were cool. If you go to Ginkaku-ji Temple, you can walk back to town via the Philosopher's walk, which was also neat. The bus system in Kyoto is pretty good and manageable even if you don't speak/read Japanese (I don't). Get a map for it though. Also went to the Arashiyama district to see the bamboo forest. That was neat but maybe not worth since it's on the edge of town.

I mostly just walked around on my own.

Some of my pictures from the trip are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tgray1/sets/72157625609073386/

 

[dovi]

they might return it!

they might return it!

I left my Zeiss Ikon in a batroom in a starbucks in Tokyo.
A lady came up to me, bowed and handed it back, just before I left the store. Amazing.

I'll be in Kyoto in mid-October. So if our times overlap please feel free to leave that M9 in a public bathroom. Just let me know which one! 😉

Seriously, I will be in Japan during that time visiting some study abroad students in Hikone who are working on a blogging project. I hope to take them to Kyoto for a one day documentary field trip...the students might be interviewing, writing, photographing or videographing. I've never been to Japan, so while I can teach process I don't know much about the place or how to navigate it. If anyone has any specific suggestions on where to find a good tour guide for the day, I'm all eyes and it might help the OP as well.

Also another question with potential overlap with the OP:

What are your favorite places to photograph in Kyoto? What temples, gardens, streets, etc?

Thanks!
Doug

(I'll be bringing an R-D1--unless I sell it--and a Ricoh GXR M-module. 28/2, 35/1.2 and 50/1.4 lenses). Might even bring my trusty Olympus LC-1 (precursor to the SP with same 40/1.7 honey lens). The fate of the R-D1 is in the hands of the A12-M module and how handily I can learn to focus it.)

 

[ronnies]

Shimogamo and Sanjusangendo were the two main sites I managed to visit on a work trip to Kyoto. Then there was the Kinkakuji shrine (not the Ginjkakuji shrine but another one) we were taken to by our hosts (from Kyoto University).

I wish I'd had more time to spend wandering and camera shopping !!

Ronnie

 

[furcafe]

And I remember us discussing how easy it would have been to run away w/very expensive gear @ the camera stores you showed me.

BTW, to Jimbot: I visited all 3 of the cities you've mentioned & I think they're all worth a visit, including Nara (http://www.flickr.com/photos/furcafe/sets/72157610941269467/). The thing is that Nara is much smaller than the other 2 cities & probably worth more of a day trip than an extended visit.

Not really 🙂

I left my wallet with about $500 cash in it in the mens toilets on the 1st floor of Kawasaki City Hall once. The next person to use the toilet found my wallet, handed it to the security guard on his way out, and the security guard then delivered it to me in my office on the 2nd floor. He said "be more careful next time" 😱