I have self-published a
photobook of images from 3 hikes I did in Japan last year. The first followed the Omoto course on Miyajima, a small island near Hiroshima. The many granite steps lead through evergreen forest to a view of the Misen summit and the Inland Sea.
The second walk was to the 924m summit of Kaimon-Dake, often known as 'Satsuma-fuji' (the Fuji of the Satsuma region). Cartoon-like billboards warn prospective walkers against finding themselves on the thickly wooded mountain after dark. If only I had heeded the cartoons... Fortunately the foward-thinking and kindness of a couple of Japanese walkers meant I didn't have to spend a night on a cold mountain.
Finally I was drawn to Yakushima which includes a UNESCO World Heritage site and the wettest place in Japan. It is also home to giant cedar trees, some of which are thousands of years old. I took the '80 minute' trail at Yakusugi land.
As well as the beautiful forest paths, I wanted to document things I saw 'along the way': - the vending machines in the middle of nowhere, the Buddhist marker stones and the strategically placed 'air rescue sites'. I have deliberately omitted some of the 'picture postcard' images such as the floating red torii (shrine gateway) at Itsuku-shima-jinja. Those of you who like to classify photography into genres could call this ‘Travel-mentary’.
The book title ‘Walking Around Japan’ and the cover image allude to two things. The first is a reference to experiencing navigational ‘challenges’. The second idea is that according to
Gaijins who have settled in Japan, foreigners will always regarded as outsiders.
You can see a preview of the book
here.
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