by Philbert Ono
What’s Japan Photos at PHOTOGUIDE.JP/pix ?
It’s an ever-growing collection of tens of thousands of online photos and videos of Japan, organized mainly according to prefecture and city/town/village. It is to help promote travel to Japan and pique your interest in the places, things, events, and people the photos show. Be great if the pictures help you better understand Japan and see that it is much more than just Mt. Fuji, geisha, and cherry blossoms.
How are the photos organized?
Basically, there are top-tier categories such as the prefecture (all 47 prefectures of Japan), then secondary categories such as the city, town, and village. The secondary categories contain photo collections called albums (called “photo sets” at Flickr). Each album can contain up to 250 pictures of a certain subject or theme. Toward the top of the page, there are breadcrumb links (ex.: Home > Tokyo > Shinjuku > Album name) showing you exactly where you are within Japan Photos.
I also have theme-based categories such as festivals, people, sumo, and vintage postcards.
What kind of Japan photos are there?
They are mainly travel photos from all 47 prefectures. They intend to show what a place looks like or what happens at an event such as a festival. The photos are selected from among many and presented in a logical sequence. If it’s a festival, the photos are in chronological sequence. It’s more like a photo essay, and I avoid showing random, unrelated images.
Most of the photos were taken within the Tokyo-to-Osaka corridor since I live in Tokyo and most of my travels are done within this area. In the near future, I plan to spend extended periods in farther parts of Japan where I haven’t traveled and photographed much.
Did you take all these photos/videos?
I took almost all of them. Those labeled with “Philbert Ono.” Photos not taken by me are labeled with the respective photographer’s name.
How can I post my photos on your Japan Photos site?
I welcome photo submissions if you have photos of Japan I don’t have or don’t plan to shoot. You should have at least 12 photos of a subject in an understandable sequence. File names should be in numeric order. Images should be at least 400 pixels wide or tall for vertical shots. You send me the images and I’ll post them on the site. Contact me for more info.
How many photos are there in Japan Photos?
As of July 2010, there are over 36,000 photos and videos. This number increases monthly. Every month, I see a place or festival (matsuri) I’ve never seen before and shoot. It may take a while longer for me to upload the results.
Do you sell your photos?
Yes, most photos are available for licensing if you want to use it for editorial purposes in a book, magazine, etc. Give me the URL of the photo(s) you want and make an offer. Contact me for more info.
Can I use your photo in my blog?
Yes, you can use the image as is for free, as long as the copyright notice is clearly visible. Keep a copy of the image on your own site and do not hotlink images from my site.
Why not post these photos on Flickr instead?
Flickr charges money and I wouldn’t draw any income from posting photos there. I much prefer posting content on my own Web site and draw ad income at the very least. I also have total control over my site. The social networking of Flickr is great, but I started Japan Photos before Flickr came to fore.
What does “Album viewed xx times” mean?
Indicates the number of times the album (thumbnail page) has been viewed since June 6, 2010 when the system started to count the album views. The number of album views is not accurate for albums uploaded before this date.
