Explore Authentic Japan and Unearth Untold Stories with Blain & His Team in Japan!

Rice Terraces in Niigata Japan

Nov 25, 2020

Having a satellite office in Niigata makes my Eastern Japan Photo Tours and my Hokkaido photo tours so much easier, and I benefit from all the fantastic nature and wildlife here. Niigata is smack dab in the middle of Japan's busiest birding migratory routes, so I have access to photograph dozens of bird species all year round. Only the seasons dictate what birds I will spend my free time photographing around my home, in my backyard, or by the ocean. Depending on what time of year it is, the ...

Birding Photography Medley of Mejiro and Sakura - Spring Cherry Blossom Photo Tour Japan

Nov 16, 2020

I usually don’t return directly after my annual winter Hokkaido Photo Tour has completed, but last year I did, and I brought along my Hokkaido Photo Tour participants to enjoy a rare birding opportunity to photograph Japan's earliest blooming cherry blossom, the Kawazu Sakura that annually blooms from Mid February to the first week of March and the Mejiro bird, they certainly are a stunningly beautiful combination. Participants were genuinely amazed, almost stunned; not only did they get ...

Japan Photo Tour - Scouting New Locations

Nov 08, 2020

The gorge photo's attached to this newsletter is one of my favorite autumn images; I took this image from our base camp last year while scouting the region in Niigata for a new Japan photo tour route. Yes, on that scouting trip, I decided to camp out and give my four seasons Mountian Hardwear and Northface tents there first taste of cooler temperatures and possible snow. I love camping and open space and storytelling by the campfire. Even knowing 40 minutes away is a 4-star luxury Japanese ...

Happy Halloween, and does Japan even Celebrate Halloween?

Oct 31, 2020

Happy Halloween. Does Japan celebrate Halloween? When I first came to Japan over 20 years ago, there were no Haloween celebrations until after the year 2000, when "rat land, oh sorry excuse me" disneyland had a Halloween event, and the rest is history. The closest to Halloween in Japan is Obon, A Summery Festival of the deceased. Where family members gather across Japan who are honoring departed relatives, cemeteries are filled with visitors. Temples are busy with festivities that are out ...

Ainu The First Nations People of Japan

Oct 28, 2020

The Ainu once struggled to preserve their dignity and cultural identity, but in 2006, under international pressure, some invariably linked to the Olympics being scheduled for 2020, the government finally recognized the Ainu as an Indigenous population. This is an important step in protecting their cultural identity and preserving their historical traditions. But even more than that, their human spirit, human dignity, to be treated like human beings is now acknowledged. Moreover, their dance has ...

Yezo Sika Deer of Hokkaido Japan - The largest Herd on our Planet

Oct 20, 2020

I have mapped nearly every road, path, and trail in the regions where I lead Hokkaido Photo Tours. Part of the reason is that I love adventuring into Hokkaido’s wild frontier, and the second is that I’m a Hokkaido local. Knowing a region and feeling comfortable with it from top to bottom are two contributing reasons why I offer Japan Photo Workshops on Japan's most northern island Hokkaido. Some years ago, as I was half traveling/half scouting locations in my Prado ...

Hokkaido Birding Photo Ops - Blakiston's Fish Owl

Oct 15, 2020

Some photographers stay away from cold landscapes such as winter in Hokkaido and remain in warmer locations for birding photography or landscape photography, but not me. I feel that if you limit the amount of landscapes and birding photo ops by leaving out the picturesque, snowy winter scenery, you’re leaving too much out of the picture. Hokkaido birding tours and minimalists landscape photo tours are filled with beauty and spectacular wildlife photography and landscapes all year-round, ...

Hokkaido's Canny Avian Inhabitants - Glaucous Gulls

Oct 11, 2020

On my annual Hokkaido Birding Tour, I photograph at least a dozen or two different species of birds, such as The Steller’s Sea Eagle, The White-tailed Eagles, The Red-Crowned Cranes, The Shima Enaga, The Pygmy Woodpecker. For the First Nations Peoples of Japan, the Ainu, the most revered bird and or Kamuy spiritual being, is the Blakiston's Fish Owl, which they say is the protector of their village and homes. I respect their beliefs as they are similar to mine, in which I was raised side ...

Steller's Sea Eagle Hokkaido Birding and Food for Thought

Oct 07, 2020

While organizing and cataloging the photos from my last Hokkaido Photo Tour from February 2020, I happily shot some near-perfect minimalist landscapes. I counted about 30 beautiful, minimalist landscapes shots that were all laid out for me with minimal editing required, and I thought I will leave them for the moment while I began examining some of the birding and wildlife photography, the Steller’s Sea Eagles, the White-tailed Eagles, Hokkaido’s snow ballerinas the ...

Heartfelt Sunrise in the Shape of a heart on a Hokkaido Photo Tour

Oct 04, 2020

I love photography and videography, and that means always chasing the light. Chasing the light has taken me all over the world and mainly Japan in the last 20+ years, and I’ve been exploring and scouting new locations all over the country since I arrived. My Hokkaido photo tour represents some of my favorite adventures. However, I find that, at times, small changes or updates to my usual itinerary can yield spectacular results. Last year, on February 24, 2020, on my annual Hokkaido Photo ...