mark prior photography

A photographic record of a trip of just over six weeks from Hokkaido to Kyushu (with a return to Tokyo at the end) during October and November 2025. The trip was largely to photograph autumn leaves but other things caught my eye on the journey. Each day is represented by a single image in this gallery.

Walking into the shrine grounds one of the first things you see is the temizuya, a purification trough. The sun was doing its best to make me notice it as it had illuminated it. The trough is of dark stone tiles and inside it are dark pebbles. Behind is a row of cut bamboo that it light and bright against the darkness of the trough. This trough uses taps and their silver push buttons are also caught by the light. Propped against and on top of one of these taps are the laddles used for the ritual. In darkness behind the trough is a small graphic providing information on the process.
The Blue Pond is famous for its striking blue water but today was the first snowfall of the season and not only was the pond dull due to the cloud cover but the falling snow lightened the scene even more. This image is of some of the trees standing in the pond. Their dark trunks contrast with the light blue water of the pond and the white of the falling snow. In the background is a row of trees still with the autumnal colour, not yet willing to admit that winter is coming.
Cape Sōya is recognised as the northernmost point in Japan and it has a monument to note that fact. The monument is a circular platform with steps leading up to the platform. On the platform is a dark sign with "The Northernmost Point in Japan" in Kanji and English. Also on top of the platform is a tall triangular structure and within the triangle is a pointer, which I assume points to the poles.
A famous location in Sapporo for its Gingko Trees that arch over the roadway. The trees had a mixture of yellow and green leaves, so not yet at peak colour. This image is looking down towards the entrance gate of the University from the side of the road. The University didn't want tourists standing in the roadway taking pictures and disrupting traffic so they had marshalls stationed along the road and had lined it with a orange tape "barrier" which was kinda annoying.
Originally the Buddha was sitting in a field but Tadao Ando designed a hill to surround it with an opening above the Buddha. In spring the hill is covered with flowing lavender bushes. Inside the hill I used a wide angle lens to capture the Buddha sitting serenely on his plinth with a very cloudy sky above. He is surrounded by the concrete dome of the hill.
Some museums are more interactive than others. The Sapporo Beer Museum has a small number of displays about the history of the brewery and the brand but I'm guessing most people come for the beer. If you are going to have a beer then make it the sampler of three different ones. Not much difference in style or appearance but it was all in the taste. This image is of the wooden carrier containing three glasses of beer. The glasses are branded with the "Spporo Beer Museum" and an image of the brewery building. They each have a rather large head of foam and under the glasses is a description of each of the beers in Japanese and English.
Otaru was a major shipping port and it has a canal lined with warehouses. These warehouses have now been transformed into museums and restaurants while boats full of tourists ply the canal.
Otaru has a number of museums as part of the "Otaru Art Base" and one of them is the Stained Glass Museum. This museum contrains stained glass rescued from deconsecrated churches in the UK. This 5 pane piece tells the story of St George and the dragon.
Mount Yōtei is Hokkaido's version of Mt Fuji and I took a train to Kutchan in the hopes of seeing it and finding more autumn leaves. The weather had other ideas. As I was arriving via the train the skys were relatively clear but once I got out of the station Mount Yōtei had pulled on its security blanket cloud and wasn't prepared to give it up.
After a day of travel from Otaru to Hakodate I was looking for a nice meal and there was a tiny Genghis Khan restaurant close to my hotel. Only a counter and a couple of takes but friendly, young staff and great food. Ironically it was Australian lamb.
If you are looking for autumnal colour in Hakodate then the Dutch design fort of Goryōkaku is the place to go. Towering above it is the Goryōkaku Tower which provides a great view of the layout of the fort.
The Mt Hakodate Observatory was packed at night and everyone had come to see this view of Hakodate.
The drive to the Trappist Abbey seems to go on forever and of course the abbey sits perched on a hill, not that you can visit and speak with the monks. There is a church at the bottom of the hill, to the right, as well as a shop that sells cookies and dairy products made by the monks.
Need to see vermillion Torii without massive crowds? Go to Takayama Inari Shrine. It's not easy to get to but the snaking line of torii is wonderful and it's relatively easy to photography without people being obvious in the shot. The surrounding foliage also adds to the scene with ponds, streams and vermillion bridges too.
There was an apple fair in the park, apple shaped lanterns on the moat and tourists being punted around the moat while wearing traditional straw hats. And all around that was the autumn foliage. Well done Hirosaki.
The Saishōin Temple has a beautiful five story pagoda. Nearby is the Shoro bell tower and Bonsho temple bell of Saishōin.
Part of the Sannai Maruyama Archaeological Site the Jomon Jiyukan contains artifacts discovered on this important UNESCO World Heritage site including this small clay figure.
Inside the Nebuta Museum WA RASSE are floats used in the festival. The floats are huge three-dimensional works made of wire and paper and lit from the inside.
The primary purpose of the trip to Japan in October and November was to hike the length of the Oirase Gorge and photography the autumn leaves. Many people were bussed from interesting point to interesting point but to take in the magnificence there was no going past the full 14km hike. It was easy to believe you were the only one there even though the road is never far away.
There was a reason why I planned multiple days at the gorge, the weather. After a successful hike on the first day the weather decided I should rest up and so the wind blew and the rain fell. It eased off in the afternoon so a short hike around the hotel, umbrella in hand, was in order. Lots of trees had lost their leaves and the scene was duller than the vibrancy of the day before but still magical.
A long travel day from Oirase Gorge to Matsumoto involved a coach and multiple trains. Gran Class on the Hokkaido Shinkansen can be very relaxing with a steward serving a bento lunch and a beverage.
A small art museum specialising in Ukiyo-e. The lighting on the prints wasn't very photography friendly but the prints were quite interesting. In this image are two prints from Keisai Eisen: A Tōkaidō Board Game of Courtesans: Fifty-three Pairings in the Yoshiwara (1821-1823).
The keep and surrounding buildings of the 16th-century, black-and-white "Crow Castle", one of Japan's National Treasures, sits perched on its moat. The sky above is filled with cloud trying to match the colour of the castle. Surrounding the keep are some of the trees in the castle grounds displaying their autumnal foliage.
The last train of the day, hauled by two orange locos, passes across the final red bridge (Shin Yamahiko bashi) leading into the Unazuki station.
A quick visit to the National Crafts Museum expecting to see Japanese crafts but instead visiting an exhibition by British artist Lucie Rie. In this image there is a vase in a glass cabinet held in place by thin plastic looking wires and behind it two photographys of Lucie Rie at work.
You can't come to Kanazawa and not visit one of Japan's three great gardens, Kenroku-en. People line up to take a shot of the stone lantern and the pond beyond it. A nice bit of autumn foliage reflected in the pond to add colour too.
Attending a Geiko performance in an ochaya in the Nishi Chaya District. We were treated to a tour of the building, some discussion with the Geikos before a brief performance. Here Akino-san has selected one of her many fans (the specific one) for this particular dance about writing a letter to a soon to be husband with Hitomi-san in the background providing the musical accompaniment.
Missed the actual event but got a free preview by being curious enough to walk up to the castle one evening to take some pictures of the castle being illuminated and walking into the set up. The castle is perched on it's walls illuminated in brilliant white while below in the lawn area there are a couple of "waterfalls" lit in blue. Standing in a field of white leds are some vertical lights also lit in blue.
One of Frank Lloyd Wright's commisions in Japan is the Yodokō Guest House. This image is of an interior wooden sliding window. Each half of the window has a main pane with slats and to the side is a smaller square green copper decorative piece in the FLW style. Behind the window is a corridor with windows facing the outside.
The Himeji castle is impressive whatever way you look at it but when standing below it looking up you get a sense of how formidable it is with its many towers, slot windows and stone drop windows.
Just what you expect to see at the end of a small pier, a huge yellow pumpkin with black dots. Kusama Yayoi's Pumpkin glowing in the sunshine after a brief rain shower is reflected in a puddle on the concrete pier. The black with yellow dots stalk of the pumpkin appears to be pointing at Takamatsu in the distance.
Ritsurin is a quiet garden not far from the centre of Takamatsu. In this scene we are looking across a pond towards Kikugetsu-tei, a beautiful teahouse within the garden. In front of the teahouse is a small island with trees showing off their autumn colours while behind the teahouse the trees on Mt. Shiun are still largely green.
Okayama has one of Japan's great gardens, although I wasn't impressed, but my reason to be there was to catch a 500 series Shinkansen before it is retired. The 500 was the first Shinkansen I rode, on the San'yō line from Osaka to Hiroshima, when it provided Nozomi service. Now cut in half to only 8 cars and providing an all stops Kodama service it is still a beautiful looking train and its curved lines constast to the boxy lines of its successors, 700, N700 and N700A/S. It didn't seem happy when sitting in stations and a Nozomi blasted past.
Everyone comes to the island of Itsukushima (more popularly called Miyajima) to see the shrine and its floating torii. The torii is hard to miss walking from the port towards the shrine.
Japan has a thing about stairs but you don't expect them on a bridge but Kintai is no ordinary bridge. The arched spans are lit after sunset and I think it makes it look even more attractive.
A trolley train (Tokotoko) runs along a track originally designed to extend the rail line but the rails were never laid. Along this track is the Kirara Yume Tunnel which includes a design made with rocks that fluoresce when exposed to UV light. The trolley stops here so people can appreciate the artwrok.
This view is claimed to be one of Japan's best night time views. While the view of the city was impressive it was surprising how relatively few people were at the overlook. It seemed a lot less popular than Sapporo and Hakodate.
When I first visited the Peace Park in Hiroshima many years ago it was drizzling with rain, very atmospheric weather, and so it was perhaps not a surprise that it happened again on my first visit to the Peace Park in Nagasaki. What I wasn't expecting was for it to stop and then a number of school groups to suddenly appear and this photographer wrangle them into a group photo. It was fascinating watching her do her work in front of the Peace Statue by Seibo Kitamura.
When a friend says "if you go as far south as Fukuoka, the main art museum is an absolute banger" you take that advice and drop your bag at the hotel and head there immediately. So many awesome things to see but this piece was just outstanding. Yinka Shonibare's "Woman Shooting Cherry Blossoms" is what it says "on the tin". A mannequin holding a rifle and out of the barrel are branches full of pink and white cherry blossoms.
Sakurajima is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula. Yunohira Observation Point is the closest public observation point to the ferry terminal and to the volcano. The volcano has three peaks and the one on the right, Minami-dake, is the most active.
At the end of a long trip I could relate to this tiny Buddha that was enjoying a rest in a small weed filled water bowl.
Another Frank Lloyd Wright designed property in Japan, Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan was originally designed in 1921 as a girl's school. Sadly it was closed for events, mostly wedding receptions, on all the days I was in Tokyo so I only got to stare at it from the road. It certainly looked like a FLW Prairie school design.
A view of Fuji-san from the Enoshima Sea Candle. Sadly a bit hazy in the middle of the day. At the end of November there was some snow on the summit which provides some definition.
One last quest for more autumnal colour took me to the Imperial Place East Gardens. Ninomaru Garden is a nice traditional garden within the greater garden and of course has its own pond and stone lantern.