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Japan All to Ourselves

Capturing Japan when it first opened to tourism post-pandemic, on film

By Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee

August 2^nd, 2024

On the 13th of October 2022, we landed in Tokyo, a day after Japan lifted most of the COVID restrictions to tourists entering the country. The wife and I were one of the first batches of travellers that were allowed to enter without following a tour group.

It was surreal to be in Japan and visiting places like Kyoto, Karuizawa, Hakodate, Sapporo and Higashikawa, without any crowds.

These are photos I captured on film, with Portra 800 on my Olympus XA, and Portra 400 on my Zeiss Ikon and a Light Lens Lab 50mm f2 "Elcan".

I know, I took forever to get these photos developed, two years, in fact. Brings new meanng to slow photography.

The wife in a cottage at Karuizawa. It must be nice to ski from this cottage. Alas, we were here in autumn. Still beautiful though.

Traveling by Green Car, JR line in Hokkaido. This was before the price hikes and I decided to splurge a little and get the Green Car JR Pass for us.

We landed in Narita then to Tokyo Station and onward to Hakodate.

Morning at Hakodate. Seafood breakfast and awesome drip coffee at the market.

Hakodate to Sapporo.

Sapporo Station and Sapporo TV Tower. All to ourselves.

Sunset over Sapporo.

Dinner at a rowdy izakaya in Sapporo.

Dinner and train ride from Sapporo.

Shirogane Blue Pond (Aoiike) in Hokkaido at dusk, on a rainy evening.

All-day BBQ on a clear autumn Sunday at our friends' home in Higashikawa. A highlight of our trip.

The Wife's first time up Asahidake. I have lost count of the number of times I have been up the tallest mountain in Hokkaido. But it never gets old for me. And I was thrilled to show her my haunt.

A cafe with a vineyard for the view. It is a converted barn in the outskirts of Furano. We saw deer from our car on the way there too.

You can tell I am somewhat obsessive about trains. Sapporo back to Hakodate, Hakodate to Tokyo to Kyoto. I know. Insane.

An empty Kyoto in October 2022. No crowds blocking our views.

I am glad we came. Japan was never the same again a few months after. Having the country to ourselves without the crowds made our 2022 trip really special.