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Lisa in Japan

Photographer in Tokyo

09/01/2024

Some photos from two trips to my dad’s farm in rural Victoria. It’s interesting how after being away from Australia for almost three years I could see my home with new eyes — I think they’re onto something when they say distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Shot on either my Nikon Nikkor Z 40mm f2 or AF-S Nikkor 85mm f1.8, two of my favourite lenses to use when traveling. The 40mm f2 is tiny but tack sharp, which makes shooting a real pleasure.

By the way, the last slide is of me holding a lamb that my dad’s pet sheep recently had. My dad must have been missing me a lot because he named it Lisa.

06/01/2024

French x teppanyaki in Kyoto for Tokyo Weekender. I had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful French chef Dominique Bouchet too.

02/01/2024

Back in July (I think?) I went to Kyoto for work and stayed one day longer to check out some spots. It ended up being a very magical trip: to start, while at the station I saw Doctor Yellow! Absolutely frothing.

After that I caught the train to Emmachi Station and stayed at . Let me tell you, this place is SO cosy and lovely and heart-warming, and I totally recommend booking a few nights here. The machiya are run in collaboration with , and each stay not only supports their efforts rejoining cats, but it also means you can cuggle with little sweetie pies (see slide 6)

After that I explored some nearby temples. It was hot.. dangerous Kyoto summer hot. After seeing Horinji Daruma-dera I started feeling light-headed from the heat, and I pulled into the shade to find a place for lunch. As I was literally searching “coffee” on Google maps, I hear “excuse me, what are you doing?” I looked up to see a friendly lady.

I told her I was looking for coffee. As fate, destiny and divine intervention would have it, she told me she had a coffee shop and gallery just one minute down the street. I walked there with her and had the best iced coffee and egg sandwich of my LIFE. As many of you know, this is the moment I met Yoko-san, owner of in Kyoto. If you do anything, ANYTHING, in Kyoto, make sure it’s this. Just trust me. I’m telling you.

I also went to Myoshin-ji Taizo-in for some delicious komorebi. This garden is part of a fantastic temple complex where you can do overnight stays at Shunko-in! When I got there I was like ✨ wow dejavu I feel like I’ve seen this before in a dream! ✨ but actually I’d just already been there in 2012 lol

01/01/2024

In Japan the first sunrise of the year is called “hatsuhinode” and it’s believed to bring good luck if you watch it. It’s a really beautiful and sentimental thing to do on Jan 1 — seeing the first glimpses of the sun welcoming in new year really feels auspicious, especially knowing that so many others are watching that sunrise with so much hope for the new year.

Anyway, this morning we set our alarms for 2:30am (!), drove to the Mount Fuji area, and started an honestly pretty gnarly ascent up Mount Kenashi. The majority of the hike was pitch black, freezing cold, windy, steep and slippery with leaf litter. I am also embarrassingly unfit, so I can honestly say it was pretty tough. After a little over an hour we finally hit the top. The whole way I had purposely avoided looking back, because I wanted to see the incredible view of Mount Fuji as a treat at the end.

We hit the top, 1500 metres, and one of the crispiest, deliciousest, magicalest, most majestic Füj unfolded right there in front of us.

I feel like a hatsuhinode plus Mount Fuji has got to be maxxing out the good luck, so here’s to 2024. My goal is to travel more and stop getting migraines.

None of these photos would have been possible without our friend who is one of the most incredible photographers in the world. If you’re not following him then you’re just playing yourself really

31/12/2023

Ambience from a little winter escape to the border of Nagano and Niigata 🌾

22/12/2023

I’m totally OBSESSED with the close-up lens filter that turns my zoom lens into a macro lens!

I shot this sweet little bee on my 85mm, but you can get really up close and personal if you have a telephoto lens 200mm or more! Can’t wait to keep playing with it.

21/12/2023

Gyosen Asakura is both a former DJ and the head priest of Sho-onji, a quaint temple in a small town in Fukui.

In 2016 he combined his passions and created a Buddhist service that utilises updated technology, such as audio mixing, light shows and projection mapping, to express Buddhist paradise in a contemporary manner. Since then he’s been dubbed the “techno monk”.

At a time where temple attendance across Japan is rapidly decreasing, Asakura-san is providing an innovative and alternative way for people, especially younger generations, to experience Buddhism. The service was not at all like a rave, as many people might imagine. It was sincere and spiritual, with the “techno” element probably better described as like a mystic ambience. It was utterly incredible.

You can actually listen to Asakura-san’s temple beats on Spotify! Sorry, it’s in Japanese, but if you want to find it type “Gyosen Asakura” into Spotify. Click on 行宣朝倉 and have a listen. If you scroll down you’ll see a yellow EP. Some of those songs are probably the closest to the ones we heard at the service.

The techno service only occurs twice a year, so we were extremely lucky to see it while in Fukui, but if you visit Sho-onji on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays you can experience projection mapping and music in the main hall. The temple also has a cafe called Show-on G.

Shot for Tokyo Weekender.

16/11/2023

Dreamscape

12/11/2023

After a mega photo shoot on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I found myself with a few hours in Nara. I’ll be honest, I prefer Nara over Kyoto. It’s not that I don’t like Kyoto, of course it’s gorgeous and filled with important history (plus Yoko-san is there!)

But Nara also has so many wonderful places to visit, but with the added benefit of being cheaper to stay and having less crowds.

I highly recommend the climb up Mt Wakakusa through the ancient forest, and having a nice little sit with a deer at the top of the hill.

08/11/2023

Details from a few trips I’ve done to Tochigi’s Nakagawamachi 🌸 I’m always subconsciously looking for the details.

Btw I stood under the cherry blossom tree in the first photo and said “whoah” like 100 times. Absolutely magnificent tree.

05/11/2023

Really needed to seek out mystical forest magic beyond my mortal comprehension.

Aokigahara Forest has a reputation for not-so-nice-things, but if you skip it, you’re missing out. Thick fluffy moss grows on everything, from the ancient cypress and hemlock, to the rolling mounds of volcanic rock spewed from Mt Fuji hundreds/thousands of years ago. Mushroom life is abound. It’s so incredibly beautiful and has some easy hiking trails too. Although we never get much further than like 300 metres in because I get too excited scrounging in the dirt for fungi.

02/11/2023

The deer in Nara are gorgeous sacred creatures. Please try to avoid taking any plastic into Nara Park, such as plastic bags, straws and wrappers, as they can accidentally find their way into hungry deer’s tummies.

If you need to bring plastic into the park, please make sure it’s hidden deep in your bag! 🦌

住所

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo