Japan

Hidden Gem
This literally was a hidden gem, a little bit off the main trail. Well, I discovered it while I was already walking through the dense forest because I didn't want to be limited by the views I got while walking only on the trail. At this waterfall it was very fortunate that I didn't approach it from the front, I would have probably walked away immediately because the front is not very photogenic and there were so many more waterfalls I wanted to see. When I approach the waterfall from the left I immediately saw the beautiful bend with all those lovely lush plants around which act as the perfect frame for the waterfall. In the end I was really happy that I discovered this composition so quickly because there was so much more to discover on that very day. The waterfall is called is Kudan (九段の滝) and is located at the Oirase River, close to Lake Towada in Japan.

Forest Magic 1
This one is from Shirakami-Sanchi, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Although this area is quite touristy I didn't see many tourists on that particular day, maybe because the weather was not the best. We had (drizzling) rain more or less the whole day. Good for me, because having everything wet around you means beautiful lush colours in the pictures later. In this forest I even spottet wild monkeys here and there, but I couldn't get any good shots, they might be a little bit scared of foreigners, which are indeed a very rare species in this area of Japan.

Forest Magic 2
Another one from the beautiful lush forest in Shirakami-Sanchi, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Lately I'm missing these lush colours a lot, winter has only been dull so far here in Germany, not even white, only grey and brown, can't await spring!

Cascade of Joy
The Anmon Falls (暗門の滝) have been one of the highlights of my visit to North Japan last year. It is a collective name for three waterfalls in the forests of the Shirakami-Sanchi World Heritage site in the northern Tohoku region of Japan, stretching between Akita and Aomori Prefecture. Here you can see the highest waterfall which drops 42 m, the second drops 37 m and the third drops 26 m. It's a beautiful and peaceful place which seemingly is not visited by many tourists during rainy days in autumn 😉

Green Falls

Wild Oirase
This will be the first picture of the Oirase river, located in eastern Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Expect more in the next weeks 😉 It is the only river draining Lake Towada which is a large caldera lake on the border of Aomori and Akita Prefectures. The upper part of the river forms a scenic gorge with numerous rapids and waterfalls and is a major tourist attraction of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. I spend nearly three days only walking, cycling and photographing besides the river, it was such a beautiful area to discver. Although it is a popular tourist attraction everything still looks very natural and well preserved.

Welcome to the Jungle 2
Another impression of the dense vegetation besides the Oirase River in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It was already late August when I visited this place but everything still appeared in lush green tones, I guess it was not long before the area would have shown the first display of autumn colours. Next time I've to re-visit during autumn for a completely different colour palette.

Go with the Flow
While photographing the Oirase River in Japan this was one of the few occasions where it just had to walk into the river to get a an immersive shot of the lovely scene. Now after seeing this green "tunnel view" I'm very curious how this would look like during peak autmn season when everything appears in yellowish and red glory. I'm also still fascinated by how easily accessible the whole area was and how much fun we had while driving along the river with rental bikes, having maximum flexibility to go and park everywhere besides the river. There is even a behind the scenes photo where I just had set up my tripod in the stream: https://www.facebook.com/philipp.lutz.photography/photos/a.342808385745064.99881.342799929079243/1314515398574353 Enjoy 😉