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Best photography destinations in Asia

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Fujikawaguchiko
Lake town with Mount Fuji views and onsen
8.1
Locals warm up with hōtō, a hearty stew of flat noodles and vegetables. Lake Kawaguchi gives calm water for reflections of Mount Fuji, especially at dawn. Oishi Park on the north shore has lavender in early summer and red kochia bushes in autumn. Rent a bike to ride the lakeshore path.
Highlights:
  • 🚠 Ride the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway for stunning views
  • 🏘️ Explore traditional thatched houses at Iyashi-no-Sato
  • 🏞️ Admire Mount Fuji from scenic Lake Kawaguchiko
Fujiyoshida
Fuji's sacred trailhead with the pagoda view
8.1
Come in early April when cherry blossoms frame the five story Chureito Pagoda with Mount Fuji behind it. The pagoda stands in Arakurayama Sengen Park above the town. Climb about 400 steps for the view. Arrive at sunrise to avoid crowds. Autumn maples turn the park red in November.
Highlights:
  • ♨️ Relax in an onsen while admiring views of Mount Fuji
  • 🎢 Visit Fuji-Q Highland and ride its record-breaking roller coasters
  • 🗻 Photograph Mount Fuji framed by the red Chureito Pagoda
Furano
Lavender fields and powder snow in Hokkaido
8.1
Farm Tomita has grown lavender here since the late 1950s. Purple rows bloom from mid July to early August. Use a long lens to stack stripes of flowers against the mountains. Neighboring Biei has rolling hills called the Patchwork Road, where crop fields make colorful stripes.
Highlights:
  • 🎿 Ski on Furano’s world-class powder snow slopes
  • 🏡 Stroll through charming Ningle Terrace craft village
  • 💜 Visit vibrant lavender fields at Farm Tomita
Mount Fuji
Japan's highest peak and sacred volcano
Come between November and February when clear air gives sharp views of the snowy cone. Mornings give better odds of seeing it before clouds build. The official climbing season runs from July to early September. Shoot reflections from a calm lake shore at dawn. Tripods help in the low light.
Highlights:
  • 🚣‍♀️ Explore Lake Kawaguchi with stunning views of Mount Fuji
  • 🚠 Take a scenic ride on the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway
  • 🌄 Climb to the summit for sunrise views and achievement
Ashikaga Flower Park
Giant wisteria trellis and winter light show
Sweet wisteria perfume hangs in the air under purple flower tunnels. The park's Great Wisteria is more than 150 years old and its branches spread over a huge frame. Late April to mid May is peak bloom. Stay for the night lights when the flowers glow.
Highlights:
  • 🌟 Enjoy evening illuminations highlighting blossoms
  • 📸 Photograph vibrant seasonal flowers across the park
  • 🌸 Walk beneath the stunning wisteria tunnel in bloom
Shirakawa-go
Thatched gassho farmhouses in the Hida mountains
7.6
Steep thatched roofs look like hands pressed together in prayer, which gives the style its name, gasshō zukuri. UNESCO listed the village in 1995. Climb to the Shiroyama viewpoint above Ogimachi for the wide shot. On a few winter evenings the houses are lit up in the snow.
Highlights:
  • 🏺 Visit the open-air museum to explore preserved houses
  • 📸 Capture winter scenery with snow-covered village rooftops
  • 🏡 Admire the traditional gassho-zukuri thatched farmhouses
Miyajima
Torii in the sea, deer and Mount Misen
8.6
At high tide the shrine and its great red torii gate seem to float on the water. At low tide you can walk out to the gate over wet sand. Check tide times before you go. Deer wander the island. Sunset behind the gate draws a crowd.
Highlights:
  • 🍁 Stroll through Momijidani Park’s maple trees in autumn
  • 🏔️ Climb Mount Misen for panoramic views of the Seto Inland Sea
  • ⛩️ Admire the floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine at high tide
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Kyoto's famous bamboo lane in Arashiyama
Tenryū-ji temple, founded in 1339, stands beside the bamboo path. The grove path is about 500 meters long. Go at sunrise when light filters through tall stalks and few people are around. Walk to the Togetsukyo bridge afterward for river and hill views. Rickshaw pullers wait near the grove entrance.
Highlights:
  • 🚣‍♂️ Drift along the Katsura River with Arashiyama's hills as backdrop, avoiding the crowds
  • 🐒 Meet wild monkeys at Iwatayama Monkey Park above Arashiyama
  • 🎋 Stroll through the magical Arashiyama bamboo forest early in the morning
Fushimi Inari-taisha
Thousands of torii gates up a Kyoto mountain
Senbon Torii is a path of close set red gates that winds up the hill behind the shrine. Businesses and families donate the gates. Each one carries a name and date. Go before 7 am or after dark for few people. Paths fan out into the forest toward the mountain top.
Highlights:
  • 🥾 Hike to mountain summit for serene shrine views
  • 🦊 Visit fox statues, messengers of the Inari deity
  • ⛩️ Walk through the iconic vermillion Senbon Torii gates tunnel
Bhutan
Himalayan monasteries, dzongs and trekking trails
8.5
Come in spring or autumn for clear skies and tsechus, festivals with masked dances in monastery courtyards. Tiger's Nest, a monastery clinging to a cliff above Paro, is the classic shot. Prayer flags and white dzongs, which are fortress monasteries, fill the valleys. Photos inside temples are often not allowed, so ask first.
Highlights:
  • 🌄 Admire Himalayan panoramas from Dochula Pass’ 108 chortens
  • 🎉 Join a colorful Buddhist festival at Punakha Dzong
  • 🏔️ Hike to the cliffside Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Paro
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