For over three decades, I’ve called Japan my home, capturing its seasons through a photographer’s lens and sharing its hidden wonders with fellow adventurers. My name is Blain Harasymiw, and every year when the air turns crisp and the maples ignite in crimson glory, I lead my signature cross-country photo workshop: “The Essence of Autumn.” Next week, I’ll gather with a couple of returning freinds and a few new clients to form a group of passionate photographers ready to chase fall's fleeting beauty across Japan’s dramatic landscapes. But this year, nature has other plans—a rare, slow-moving super typhoon named Champi, the 30th of the season, is bearing down on Japan, brushing by Taiwan and now setting its crosshairs on Kyushu.

Typhoon Champi is no ordinary storm. Its slow, relentless crawl has meteorologists on edge, and I’m already reading the isobars and satellite feeds with my usual intensity. Forecasts say Champi will hit cooler ocean currents as it approaches Japan, losing some power, and by the time it makes landfall in Kyushu on Monday, October 26th, it should begin to unravel—downgraded to a tropical storm before it ever reaches Tokyo. But if I’ve learned one thing in thirty years behind the lens and on the trail in Japan, it’s that you never take a typhoon lightly. Even as Champi’s winds die, it can still bring a “predecessor rain event”—bands of torrential rain that can sweep in ahead of the storm itself. I’ll be glued to the weather charts, scanning for those linear rain bands and ready to adjust routes and plans in real time.

Preparation is everything. My team and I are all locals, and I pride myself on being a bit of a geek when it comes to meteorology and seismology. I don’t just lead workshops—I live for the process: scouting regions years in advance, through every season, every weather twist. I won’t host a tour anywhere I haven’t spent at least three to five years exploring, and I've been mapping most of my favourite routes for over twenty years. It’s not just about finding that gallery-perfect shot (though that’s a thrill of its own); it’s about safety, about knowing every backroad and mountain pass so that, when the unexpected happens, my clients are not just safe, but comfortable.

This isn’t my first typhoon. In 2015, while I was leading a workshop in Nikko, Typhoon Etau struck Aichi and stalled, morphing into a super tropical storm. News reports were frantic, buses and tourists fled, and tens of thousands ended up stranded on flooded highways heading back to Tokyo—victims of panic and misinformation. But I trusted the local fire chief’s advice. My group stayed put, enjoying warm beds, hot meals, and the healing waters of Nikko’s onsens. When the skies cleared, we had Nikko’s ancient shrines and fiery forests all to ourselves—a memory none of us will ever forget. (You can read more on my Newsletter:

These days, too many non-local photo leaders rush into Japan, offering workshops with little knowledge of the land or its risks—relying on weather apps and AI, with scant scouting or local run-of-the-mill guidance. It’s a recipe for trouble in a country where the weather can turn on a dime and the mountains are as unpredictable as they are beautiful. Only a handful of truly local photography agencies cater to Westerners, and explorers know their regions as intimately as I do. Some are based in Kanto or Hokkaido; I split my time between the Tokyo outskirts, my cottage in Hokkaido, and my Kominka in Niigata, scouting at least five months out of every year.

Despite the approaching typhoon, I can’t help but feel a surge of excitement. Soon I’ll be back in the Japan Alps, guiding another group through forests ablaze with colour, capturing moments that last a lifetime, and introducing my clients to an authentic Japan few ever see, way off the beaten path; plus we will spend several days enjoying the Sea of Japan and Ocean stack photography, then back into the Alps, and across ancient pilgrimage routes, making our way to Mt. Fuji.

The storms may come, but the essence of autumn endures—and with preparation and passion, my team and I always find the Essence of authentic Japan to share with our groups.

Until next week.

Below are a few images from the Essence of Autumn Japan photo tour, a cross-country fall tour of Japan in 2025.

Autumn 2027 and 2028 Waitlist Only Private Sessions Open for 2027.

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