Anyway, I saw so many great places on this trip. We visited the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen in Yudanaka. It’s a hotspring where all the snow monkeys get some relief from the cold and snow in winter. I could have spent all day there just watching their different behaviors.

I used the Nikkor 135mm f/2 for most of the photos here. I would have loved to have had my 70-200mm lens here but I would not have loved lugging that thing all over Japan so it stayed at home. Luckily the 135mm ended up being an ideal focal length on a full frame body. It was COLD and mostly overcast. The snow created very difficult shooting conditions as I moved from location to location. I kept my aperture at f/2 and tweaked the shutter speed as needed, which was very often.

Well, my wife is in Japan right now. That means it’s back to doing my own laundry, cooking, washing the dishes… just kidding. I am totally jealous though. I keep hearing about all the places she’s gone to eat. Ohh, I love the food over there. I had some really killer okonomiyaki at this teppan place in Kyoto, along with many yuzu chu-hi. And the soba…incredible. Anyway, enough about food. I thought I’d post some pictures I took the last time I was in Japan.

I spent most of my time in Kyoto. There were so many incredible temples and gardens to see there. I was lucky enough to catch the end of the fall colors during a season that I hear was better than usual. I brought a tripod with me but ended up leaving it in the room. There just wasn’t enough room to set one up. In some places they were not even allowed. I had way too much gear with me, but I did end up using every single lens I brought at some point. I guess that helped to justify my aching back.

Iwatashi - f/4, 1/30, 33mm