Happy Holidays from Japan Dreamscapes Photography!

Happy Holidays and Year of the Dragon from Japan Dreamscapes Photography!  2023 was a year for our team being completely back in the field, as our workshop leaders continued exploring and introducing international photographers and friends to authentic Japan.  Although, this year did have its share of challenges.  2023 was the warmest summer on record for the last 120,000 years, so our Japan photo workshop leaders had to be more resourceful than ever leading the annual cross country cherry blossom and Essence of Autumn Japan photo tours, as cherry blossoms and autumn leaves foliage peak viewing time shifted ahead by three to four weeks.  Thankfully, our workshop leaders are lifetime adventurers, and some of them come from explorer families, visual artists, historians, and storytellers, and from a young age they learned staying clear of tourist pollution pays dividends, especially for photographers.  Annually, over 60 million people travel to and within Japan to enjoy Hanami, viewing the cherry trees bloom, and a similar phenomenon happens every autumn.  This year there was mass confusion among domestic and international travelers as over 99% used seasonal averages to book their Japan dream vacations of a lifetime, paying top dollar.  In spring, the majority did not view the perfect cherry blossoms, and in autumn those who were expecting to view the perfect Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) trees in bright reds, oranges, and yellows, only viewed maple trees in green.  During the low season, visitors who booked cheaper flights and used the same hotels as the high season, ended up having the cherry blossom and autumn leaves experience of a lifetime.

For over 25 years, our Japan photo workshop leaders have been learning the in-depth routes of Japan’s ancient cross country pilgrimage routes, and this autumn and spring the JDS Japan photo tour itinerary routes worked flawlessly, as they kept with regular scheduling, which is generally a week or two before the peak season spring and autumn tourist rush.  Spring and autumn 2023 were a highlands extravaganza.  In a single day, our workshop participants were photographing either at sea level, 2,000 meters (6,561+ feet), or somewhere in-between; it all depending on the altitude where the cherry blossoms were in perfect bloom, and the same held true for bright autumn foliage.  This year we were all especially proud of our team’s years of hard work and diligence, scouting and learning extremely complex Japanese cross country pilgrimage routes.  Our years of hard work paid off, as this year we used our built-in contingency plans for our contingency plans and back ups for our back ups in case the contingency plans were not enough.  In short, the pilgrimage route never fails, and everyone enjoyed perfectly blooming cherry blossoms and magnificently vibrant autumn colors.