Dans cet article, je vous fait grâce de mes 10 meilleurs endroits à Nikko pour prendre des photos de voyage. C’est également un top 10 idéal pour sortir des sentiers battus et s’assurer d’un séjour remarquable, en dehors de Tokyo.

L’été arrive à grand pas et encore cette année, la saison touristique amènera des milliers, voir millions, de voyageurs dans les rues et sites populaires de Nikko. Une destination Japonaise reconnu pour ses Temples et ses Sanctuaires.

Pendant que la majorité des voyageurs suivront pas à pas l’itinéraire “normal”, qui couvre grosso-modo le site de l’UNESCO et une virée jusqu’au Lac Chuzenji, je veux offrir à ceux qui préfère l’originalité à la banalité, une liste de mes meilleurs endroits à Nikko.

Veuillez noter qu’il est très difficile, voir infaisable de visiter ces 10 meilleurs endroits à Nikko en une seule journée.

Pour accéder à la plateforme, il faut prendre le sentier qui commence dans le coins droit du stationnement. Calculez environ 15-20 minutes de marche. Le sentier est bien indiqué et facile à marcher. 

Ceux et celles qui iront au Lac Chuzenji en voiture pourront faire un arrêt à cet endroit qui donne un point de vue intéressant sur Nikko.

Pour faire l'ascension du Mont Nantai il faut premièrement s'enrégistrer au Sanctuaire Futarasan situé à la base de la montagne. Il y a des frais de 500yen. Calculé environ 3-4 heures pour faire l'ascension. C'est une "hike" assez difficile et très abrupte. Une bonne paire de bottes et des bâtons de marche sont recommandés.

J'abandonne les billets en anglais et fais un retour dans ma langue natale pour vous présenter ma plus récente vidéo concernant les trains au Japon. 

Ca concerne les trains et les stations de train (gares) de Tokyo. Dépêche-toi et fil visiter ma chaîne YOUTUBE pour t'abonner si ce n'est pas déjà fait. 

If you've been following me on Youtube, you know that I've spent the last couple of weeks chasing trains, yes I've become a Densha Otaku!!! 

In this blog post, I want to share with you three great photography spots I found in the Nikko area.

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In Nikko, there are two train stations, the Tobu Station and the JR Station. Both are located next to each other, but at the Nikko JR Station, there is a passage that let you cross the train tracks, From there you can get excellent picture opportunities with a beautiful landscape background.

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There is a quiet and pretty park between the famous Nikko Cedar Avenue and the Tobu Line tracks. I like this spot because you get to watch a lot of trains, and it is easily accessible.

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This place is by far my favorite spot to shoot trains in Nikko.
It is quite far from the main touristic area of Nikko, but easily accessible by train (45 min). Get to Yunishigawa Onsen station, and from there you'll see a bridge that crosses the river. You can't miss it! 

That's it for my first 3 best trainspotting spot in Nikko. I will be posting new areas eventually. Make sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel and my Instagram account for fresh stuff about photography in Japan.

Cheers! 

Nouveau vidéo disponible sur ma chaîne Youtube... 
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb7_Ap9nJbA
C'est avec un brin d'humour que je vous présente la photographie de rue pour les nuls ou la street photo pour les cons comme diraient nos cousins français. Dans cette vidéo de fais un survol de ma passion et vous présente certains types / catégories de photographie de rue.

I hate shopping. I can't stand going to a mall and look for stuff I do not need while being surrounded by people spending money they don't have on things they don't necessarily want. It gets me out of my mind. But, on the other side, I've always loved going to the supermarket to buy grocery, and when I say I LOVE IT, I mean it literally. 

Here in Japan, supermarkets are a real joy for people like me.  Everything is neat and well displayed. I would even say that it is photogenic.

 I took a few pictures from some of my favorites Japanese supermarket section. Enjoy!

Nantai san or Mount Nantai is Nikko most famous mountain and it stands at 2,486 m high. The trail to reach the summit is one of the Japanese most favorite even though it is well known to be difficult and steep. 

Mount Nantai is a sacred mountain owned by Futarasan Shrine's Chūgushi. The path is open between 5 May and 25 October, and there is a 500¥ fee to climb the mountain. 

​Last year I reached the summit twice, and I am already getting ready to climb the mountain one more time, once the trail opens. If you are into landscape photography, I truly recommend this hot spot in Nikko! It's fantastic!

If you want to know more about hiking Nantai San, there is plenty of useful blogs which give valuable information on how to get there, what is the best time to climb the mountain, how you should prepare, etc. Do your research! Please, note that you can also contact me by PM and it will be a pleasure to answer your questions from my experiences. 

Here's a few images I took last year during my photo excursion to Nantai San's summit in Nikko. 

April 17, a date to look for if ever you are planning a trip to Japan next year. There is a Festival in Nikko which celebrate the arrival of Springs. It is a 1200-year-old event called Yayoisai, and it is one of those events you don't want to miss if ever you are in the area. This year was my second time attending the matsuri, and I thought I could share some tricks to photograph the event! Enjoy!

It is a popular event, so expect a lot of people and a lot of photography enthusiast! Try to find yourself a right spot early enough to capture the ascension to Futarasan Jinja. 

​Most of the participant will not mind if you take their portrait. Just be kind to them!

Everyone who's visited Nikko in Japan knows that it is a fantastic destination. Of course, the World Heritage Area is one of those places you can't miss, but the fact that most of the travelers do not know about Senjogahara, Hangetsuyama, Suginamiki, Kirifuri, Kinugawa, etc., is fascinating me. 

When we decided to move to Japan, I knew from the beginning that I would be offering photo excursion in Nikko. It was clear in my mind that I would have to share my knowledge of the area and help travelers to get the best out of their trip. I needed to show them those other places outside Toshogu!

I've been guiding photography excursion for about a year now, and today I am sharing six things I have learned since it all started.

When I started printing my photographs on fine art paper, one of my friend, which is also a photographer, introduced me to Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, a paper that I've been using exclusively since then. But recently, I started looking for a high-quality semi-gloss paper to print a series of small 8x10 matted prints. After reading users comments, I decided to try the Canson Baryta Photographique. I have to say that the baryta photographique is also a fantastic paper, and I found that its semi-gloss finish is a little more suited for small fine art prints made for selling at an art fair or a photo exhibition than the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. Though, I would still choose the Hahnemuhle matte paper for larger prints. 

​I have already talked about it, my beloved and no more trusty Fujifilm X100t is heading towards the end of its life, and I've been looking for a replacement for a couple of months. I still absolutely love the X100 series, but since I feel that it isn't the right timing (a new model might come out soon) to get the newer X100F, I decided to look for a smaller camera. I also wanted to see how it would challenge my photography to work with a point and shoot. So for me, there were only two options available on the market, either the XF10 or the older and much rare X70. I am not a Ricoh fan at all, the prices and the dust problem turn me off completely, but that's only my opinion. I know the GR2, and GR3 are both great cameras, but they're not for me. Just like this beautiful girl you never had the chance to talk to when you were in high school, the X70 has always interested me, but I never managed to buy one when it was time. It has now become super rare and pricey, so I looked the other way and went for the cheaper and less loved XF10.

Best decision ever. So far!

What follows isn't a technical review of the Fujifilm XF10, there is already plenty of them on Youtube, it is more like a friendly personal opinion article which covers in some ways, details and critical points (sensor, build quality, price) of the Fujifilm XF10. I will close the post by giving you my pros and cons. Note that I've only had the camera for a few days, but I have managed to go to Tokyo and shoot with it in different situations. Keep reading, and you'll understand why I think this is indeed a pro Fujifilm compact camera, perfect for street photography, everyday capture, travel and also as a back-up for any pro shooters. 

​Price
Ok, first important point with this camera is the price. Getting a 24-megapixel APS-C size sensor in such a small body is ridiculous. I got mine brand new for 38 400 Japanese yen tax included, and it is less than 500 Canadian dollars! At this price it hard to justify not having one next to my bigger X-H1.

​Build quality
Build quality is good, but not impressive. It is not a plastic camera, but I will try my best not to smash it on a metal corner or drop it on the floor. I am quite rough with my gear, and for that reason, I decided to give it an extra layer of protection by putting gaffer tape on the top, bottom and its left side. It will help against it getting scratch, and it also feels a little more robust (kind of).

​Snapshot mode
I love the snapshot mode! It's ON all the time. Of course, I wish Fuji added a few more distance option to it, just like the Ricoh, but it will suit my need for most of my street photography and family pictures. The snapshot mode is also an excellent way to deal with the AF problem that some people have. In my case, I find the auto-focus pretty awesome. It IS NOT SLOW, and it is accurate. Those people complaining about the AF from this camera have probably never used a digital camera from 8-9-10 years ago. This camera auto-focus is not as good as an X-T3 or an X-H1, but in my opinion, it is fantastic. And please, don't forget it only cost less than 500$... 

​Flash
Just like the X100 series the flash is excellent. I use it quite often, so I am using the top plate function button to get quick access to it. When using the flash on my X100t I found that the waiting time needed between each shot was sometimes problematic, but with this little boy, it is much faster, and this is something I like about the camera. 

​Cons
There is no perfect camera. Here are a few points I hope Fujifilm will work on if ever they decide to release another version of the xf10. 

Lens Cap
The lens cap sucks ass. But this could easily be fixed if Fuji eventually changes the front of the lens so we can screw a filter on it. I like to carry a camera which is ready to shoot, with a clear filter instead of a lens cap. Fujifilm, please look at the XF27 mm lens and put a 39mm thread on it. Merci :)

Fn button
Just like any other Fujifilm, you can customize different buttons to suits your need, but I wish there were two more actual FN button on the camera. No touch screen wipe FN option, real button!

Camera strap attach point
It is a small and light camera, but I wish there were two attach point. I used a neck strap and with only one attach point the camera is continuously flying left to right. 

Pros
Here's what I like about the camera

Sensor
The 24mpx sensor is excellent, and the color you get from it are great too. It remembers me my old X100 black limited edition, before they change for X-Trans sensor. 

Compactness
It is small and pocketable. Yes, it seriously fits into one's pocket. It is hard to justify not carrying a camera with you all the time when you can get such a small and powerful pro quality point and shoot.

Price
I already mentioned it, but it is a cheap and affordable camera. Getting better than that is hard. I am not going to say that you should buy one, it is not a camera for everyone, but if you are thinking about getting a small camera with great features, think about it. Go to your local camera store and give it a try first, and see by yourself. I love mine!

Peace 

​Jas

​Get the Fujifilm on Amazon here: Fujifilm XF10 black      Fujifilm XF10 Gold