What gear do you need for a Japan Photography trip?

Find out what gear to pack for your upcoming Japan photography trip, to take the best possible photos in one of the most beautiful countries in the world!

Japan has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in recent years. The country of the rising sun has attracted the attention of many tourists, photographers, and lovers of its culture and gastronomy.

Japan offers a lot to its visitors. One of its main attractions is the opportunity to photograph places that are very different from what we are used to (especially if we are Westerners). Tokyo and its streets, Osaka and its lights, or Kyoto and its temples are some of the most visited and photographed places in Japan. But what gear do you need to take good pictures in Japan?

Planning a trip can be overwhelming. Schedule a FREE 30-minute Q&A session with me!

AniolVisuals travel photography consultancy FAQs.

Book a call

Table Of Contents

How to pack for a Japan photography trip?
Japan photography trip: types of photography and gear
Gear for a Japan travel photography trip

How to pack for a Japan photography trip?

I have been to Japan twice, and in total, I’ve spent around two months in the Nippon country, at least while I am writing this. In both trips, I had the opportunity to practise very different photography styles. Not only because my gear changed between trips, but because I changed between trips.

On my first trip, I packed very light. I was younger, my budget was very limited, and I spent 30 days with a 40L backpack, half of it full of gear. On my second trip, I was a bit less extreme, but I also travelled quite light.

Before packing, you must answer two essential questions to determine your gear for any Japan photography trip. What am I going to visit? How am I going to travel?

Minimalist Japan photography trip gear

If you value travelling light, you will need to prioritise and compromise a bit. Below you will find a list of types of photography you can do in Japan. The great infrastructure of the country allows for mixing many styles, but your gear might not. If you travel light, I recommend two types of lenses

Something versatile: I feel I could do a trip with just a 16-80mm in Japan. I’d struggle a bit with the big buildings, and if I wanted to do some wildlife, I would fall short. With this type of lens, though, you will be able to do most of the photography styles I mention below.
A prime lens: I think a 35mm or a 50mm is a must for Japan. With so many street photography options, and with the rise in popularity of cameras such as the Fuji X100VI, a prime lens will give you great image quality and a very authentic look to your photos.

If you don’t travel very light, I would add a zoom to the mix, and something as wide as possible (10mm or less even), especially if you like architecture. With so many skyscrapers, you’ll need to go wide to get some of them in frame.

Do I need a tripod for my Japan photography trip?

On my first trip to Japan, I brought a sturdy tripod, ND filters and all the material a landscape photographer uses. On my second one, I decided to leave it at home, and since then, I have almost never used it. This is because my photography style has changed a lot.

However, should you bring a tripod on your Japan photography trip? It depends. Do you want long exposures of traffic lights or sunrise/sunset shots? If yes, it’s a must. Otherwise, you’ll see that there are many spots where you don’t need a tripod or where they don’t even allow tripods.

On my next Japan photography trip, a tripod will (most likely) not be on my gear list. However, as I said above, it depends on what you want to shoot and how you want to shoot it.

Japan photography trip: types of photography and gear

Here you can find a list of the most common types of photography one can take in Japan, and the material and lenses that I recommend for each of them, based on my first-hand experience. Finally, I will list all the gear I used during my Japan photography trip.

Architecture photography

Tokyo International Forum Building by Aniolvisuals. — Tokyo International Forum Building

Temples, skyscrapers and futuristic buildings. This is what you can find in Japan if you are looking for architecture. Together with street photography, this is probably the most common type of photography in Japan.

Even if you are not into it, Japan might force you to focus a bit on the architecture world. In both of my trips, I have taken architecture photos, even if it wasn’t my priority, or as part of a street photography walk.

Here, I suggest two completely different lenses. First, a wide-angle lens. To capture some interior areas of temples and tall buildings, the wider the better.

However, details matter, and Tokyo has multiple observatories from where breathtaking views of some of its more emblematic buildings can be seen. In this second case, a medium-long-range telephoto lens would be my choice.

Street photography

Street photography in Japan is crazy. On my first trip, I was so focused on landscape and nature photography. However, Japan calls for street photography. The busy streets of its main cities and the quiet ones of its picturesque villages are perfect for photography. In fact, so easy that you might end up taking bad photos of things that are really beautiful.

My two favourite cities for street photography are Tokyo and Osaka. There’s a lot of movement, night lights (still some neon), and interesting scenes everywhere. Try to get out of the main touristy areas, and you’ll take unique photos.

Any Japan photography trip will involve some street photography, so you need to take the right gear. For this type of photography, you will need a 35 mm or a 50mm. I prefer prime lenses, but as I mentioned above, if you have a versatile 16-80, for example, it will work perfectly. Take your time, get lost in the cities, and if it rains, enjoy the reflections, puddles and umbrellas.

Kanazawa Higashi Chaya District by Aniolvisuals. Japan photography trip gear. — Kanazawa Higashi Chaya District

Landscape photography

Mount Fuji by Kawaguchiko Lake by aniolvisuals. Japan photography trip — Mount Fuji sunrise by Kawaguchiko Lake

One might think that Japan is not the place for landscape photography. And honestly, you might be right. Cities are everywhere, and without a car, it can be difficult to reach some spots. However, there are lots of amazing areas for landscape photography in Japan. Mount Fuji is likely to be the most famous one, and it was one of the highlights of both my trips.

But even inside cities, you have big gardens and green areas where it’s possible to do some landscape photography. Japan is a country with big mountains, and if you are into it, you could do a full trip hiking and exploring its mountain ranges.

Wide-angle lenses and a high-quality telelens would be my go-to lenses for this specific type of photography. However, if you prefer to give a more “classic” look to your photos, a 35mm might also work.

Wildlife photography

This is a niche section. But did you know that close to Nagano, you can see monkeys swimming in a natural onsen? This is one of the most well-known one-day trips from Tokyo. However, if you want to see the monkeys active, I strongly recommend sleeping in Nagano or at the village where the Jigokudani Monkey Park is located. But wildlife photography in Japan does not stop there. Nara and its well-known polite deer are waiting for you as well!

I’ll be honest as well. If you are thinking of doing a trip to Japan focused on wildlife photography, chances are that you know a lot more about the opportunities and gear than me. However, based on my experience, monkeys run a lot, move fast and hardly ever will stop in front of you. Take your best zoom, patience and lots of SD cards.

Jiokudani Monkey Park wildlife by aniolvisuals. Japan photography trip. — Jigokudani Monkey Park

Macro photography

Cherry Blossom photography in Hiroshima. Japan by aniolvisuals — First cherry blossoms in Hiroshima

Finally, one of the main reasons photographers travel to Japan. Flowers. The cherry blossom season comes with hordes of photographers and some cameras and lenses that are more expensive than my car.

As you can see, I am not a macro photographer. But this is one of the things you can do on your Japan photography trip. When it comes to the right gear, as I mentioned in the wildlife section, I don’t have a strong recommendation.

If you are looking to take a few extra photos, similar or better to the one in this section, the 35mm or the 16-80 (or any versatile lens) will work well. However, if you want world-class macro shots, you’ll most likely need high-end gear.

Gear for a Japan travel photography trip

I think it’s nice to see how I took so many different photos with a very similar gear on my trips to Japan.

On my first trip, I went with 2 lenses: a 10-24 and a 55-200, and yes, I missed the 35mm so badly. Why did I not bring it? Because I did not have the money to buy it. On that trip, I brought a tripod, ND filters, adaptors,… Back then, I was very focused on landscape and nature photography, and that was the gear I used on a regular basis.

On my second trip, I used the same gear but with a 35mm, and I ended up taking 70% of my photos with it. Looking at your statistics of lens usage is interesting, but bear in mind that maybe you only use one lens for a handful of photos, and these are the best ones of your trip. On this second trip, I did not bring a tripod, filters and all the other stuff.

If you want to see more of my work in Japan or any of my other trips, visit my Instagram!