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.

The photos will span from 1945 to 2010, mainly showing women on the move and in action, displaying their “life force” and their will to live. The exhibition will be held in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Yokohama as follows:

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (Basement 1st floor)
Aug. 14-29, 2010, 10 am to 6 pm (till 8 pm on Thu. and Fri), closed Mon.
Admission 700 yen

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (Annex)
Sept. 14-26, 2010, 9 am to 5 pm, closed Mon.

The Japan Newspaper Museum
Nov. 13-Dec. 26, 2010, 9 am to 5 pm, closed Mon.
Admission 500 yen

A photo book (exhibition catalog) with the same title will also be sold for 2,800 yen.

Thanks to JPS for sending me a flyer and two complimentary tickets.

Official site and sample photos: http://www.jps.gr.jp/jps60/

• The main NewsZONE URL has changed from http://photojpn.org/news2/ to http://photojpn.org/news/. And what used to be at http://photojpn.org/news/ is now totally different.
• PhotoWho’sWho (photographer biographies) has moved completely to http://photoguide.jp/txt/Category:Japanese_Photographers. It is no longer at photojpn.org/news. PhotoCloseups also merged with PhotoLog.
• PhotoBBS (message boards) has been shut down and most messages have migrated to this NewsZONE blog’s PhotoNews and PhotoLog categories.
• The new PhotoNews category includes Japanese photography news, photo expo notices, exhibition notices, book announcements, etc. The PhotoLog category has my personal rants related to photography.

What’s New (what you’re reading now) is about the latest Web site updates at PhotoGuide Japan.

Some photography-related pages have also been transferred to this NewsZONE blog, such as PhotoRepairs, PhotoEvents, and PhotoFAQ.

Now that our NewsZONE section has been realigned and straightened out, next will be the revamping of DirectoryZONE still plagued with an outdated system and outdated information. So far, only PhotoRepairs has been revamped.

If you went to CP+ and wondered why you didn’t see any large-format or photo accessories, it’s because they will show at PHOTONEXT.

Again, they have split the Japanese photo expo into two: One for amateurs and one for pros. I liked it the way it was with everybody in one place. It took them years to do that, but unfortunately the coupling did not last long.

http://www.photonext.jp/english/english.html

And it’s not just a cosmetic upgrade. New features also make it easier to use and more friendly:

Go ahead and look at PHOTOGUIDE.JP/pix/ and see the improvements for yourself.

On May 26, 2010, at the Tokyo Summary Court, he got off the hook with a 300,000 yen fine and no jail time. Public indecency in Japan can bring jail time up to 6 months or a fine up to 300,000 yen.

Shinoyama played it smart by not contesting the charges filed against him and admitting guilt. He has written a letter of apology on his Web site dated May 20, 2010. Charges were also filed (papers sent to prosecutors) against the two nude female models, but they were later dropped since they stated that they only posed as directed by Shinoyama.

On his Web site, Shinoyama says that he was totally surprised by the sudden police raid on his home/office. The nude photos had already been publicly shown in magazines, exhibitions, and the photo book with no problem. Why now? What was wrong?

It turns out that the book and photos themselves were not cited as indecent, but the act of photographing two nude female models in places where they could be easily seen by passersby was considered as a no-no by police.

Shinoyama photographed the girls in twelve public places during Aug. to Oct. 2008. He did it as discretely as possible. On his Web site, he describes how he did it. The nude model is covered by a gown which can be quickly removed or put on. He has staff looking out for any passersby. He also has staff using boards to hide the model. When it is all clear, he removes the gown and shoots for a few seconds or up to a minute or two at a time.

But it was still impossible to completely hide the nude model from passersby in such urban locations. To file charges, the police zoomed in on the location of his worst offense, the famous Aoyama Cemetery in central Tokyo. Shinoyama had the girl pose on a gravestone while nude. The owner of the grave complained to the cemetery about the photos, that the girl was sitting cross-legged on the gravestone with her crotch wide open. At first, Shinoyama lied and claimed that the girl was wearing a swimsuit. The police used this public complaint to make the charges stick. There is a Japanese law saying that defaming a place of worship, which includes cemeteries, can result in a 6-month prison term and/or maximum 100,000 yen fine.

Meanwhile the 200XX Tokyo book has sold out. The publisher likely has no plans to reprint it which is extremely unusual for a Shinoyama photo book. The book is now fetching premium prices (like 50,000 yen or more at Amazon.co.jp as of this writing).

The moral of the story is, don’t shoot nudes in public places where passersby can see it at close range.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091111a8.html

He was one of my very few favorite Japanese photographers and I was lucky enough to attend a few of his photo workshops. He had a very good eye and keen sense and taste in Japanese aesthetics, especially when it came to women. He is well-known for his exquisite images of Japanese women in kimono, nude, or body-painted.

He studied under Akiyama Shotaro, another famous glamour and celebrity photographer who was like a godfather of Japanese photography while he was alive.

One of his most famous photo books was Madame-D Syuga in 1993, featuring nudes of Dewi Sukarno, former Japanese wife of the Indonesian president.

He was a very distinguished-looking man, and wasn’t just a photographer, but also an educator and leader in advertising photography. A very well-respected figure who will be sorely missed.

It was the quickest camera repair service I ever had. The female receptionists were also very nice and courteous. I was very impressed.

For those of us in Tokyo, this place is great. Too bad that they only have one such quick repair center in Japan.

Web site here:
http://club.panasonic.jp/repair/quick/index.html

A short walk from Akihabara Station, near Ishimaru Denki main store.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107783882597033

If you’re a professional photographer, videographer, or working in a related field (writers, editors, art directors, gallery owners, etc.) in Japan, I invite you to join the group.

Networking, information sharing, self-promotion, and as well as making it easier for potential clients to find and hire a pro photographer in Japan are the main purpose of the group.

Anybody can join the group, but I would allow only relevant professionals to start discussion board threads to promote themselves and their activities. Amateurs and people in unrelated occupations should remain read-only members.

This transfer was in the works off and on for 3 years. The transfer of all 200 bios was finally completed in April 2010. Note that the bios have not been updated, it was mainly a copy-and-paste operation with almost no new information added in the process. A few broken links have been fixed, but that’s about it.

The transfer was made because PhotoWho’sWho was previously run by a software system (the now-defunct Post-Nuke) not geared for search engine optimization. The URLs were terribly long and cryptic. The new software system at PHOTOGUIDE.JP uses the same search engine-optimized system running Wikipedia.

I found that only Nikon and Pentax has an English list of camera repair centers in Japan. Bravo to them. I provide direct links to their repair center list in English.

Otherwise, I have translated the addresses, etc., for the repair centers of other major camera equipment makers in Japan.

PhotoGuide Japan FAQ
FAQ about this Web site.

PhotoWho’sWho FAQ
FAQ for famous Japanese photographers and their biographies at PhotoWho’sWho.

PhotoVendors FAQ
FAQ about camera stores in Japan, stock photography agencies, buying vintage photos, renting camera equipment in Japan, and photo schools as listed in PhotoVendors.

PhotoRepairs FAQ
FAQ about camera repair centers for major camera manufacturers in Japan as listed in PhotoRepairs.

PhotoSpaces FAQ
FAQ about Japan’s museums, galleries, photo salons, and other exhibition spaces listed in PhotoSpaces.

PhotoBookstores FAQ
FAQ about major Japanese bookstores stocking a good selection of photo books.

PhotoReviews FAQ
FAQ about PhotoGuide Japan’s book review page for Japanese photo books, magazines, and CD-ROMs.

PhotoOrganizations FAQ
FAQ about major pro photographer associations and imaging industry-related organizations in Japan, as listed in PhotoOrganizations.

PhotoLibraries FAQ
FAQ about museum libraries in Japan that have a good collection of photo books and magazines, as listed in PhotoLibraries.

What is PhotoVendors?

It is a list of major camera stores in Japan.

Which camera stores do you recommend in Japan and where should I buy camera equipment?

Yodobashi Camera is the biggest camera shop (probably the biggest in the world). Their megastores in Tokyo (Shinjuku, Akihabara, Kichijoji, etc.) have almost everything. They have stores in other major cities like Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. Yodobashi originally sold only camera equipment, but they have evolved into a major electrical appliance department store. Bic Camera is another chain and also good. In the suburbs and regional cities, you might find medium-size electronics chain stores like Yamada Denki. They’re good too, but the product selection is smaller. These camera shops are great to touch and feel the products you want to buy. Most major cameras are displayed as demo models.

However, Japan also has many online vendors whose prices are often cheaper than Yodobashi, etc. Even Amazon.co.jp sometimes has lower prices than Yodobashi. (This also applies to other products such as computer equipment.) If you can read Japanese, you can compare camera prices at kakaku.com. which lists the lowest prices from vendors.

Some online vendors have a small, physical shop for walk-in customers (looking more like a warehouse office). Others don’t. If you order from an online vendor, you should pay cash on delivery unless you know them to be trustworthy (like Amazon).

In Tokyo, Shinjuku is well-known for having the highest concentration of camera shops in Japan. It makes it easy to shop and compare prices. But ever since Yodobashi opened a megastore in Akihabara, Akihabara has become a very good place to shop for both cameras and electronics.

Any camera stores which sell to customers outside Japan?

We do not know of any camera retailers in Japan which accept international mail orders.

Are camera prices cheaper in Japan than in the US or Europe?

Maybe and maybe not. It depends on the camera store, product, and exchange rate. You’ll just have to compare prices yourself.

I want to know the street prices of camera equipment in Japan.

If you and your computer can read Japanese, the best place way to find out prices is at kakaku.com. Also see Yodobashi Camera’s Web site at www.yodobashi.co.jp/ or Amazon.co.jp. They list prices of most major camera equipment.

What about used camera shops?

Ginza in Tokyo has many used camera shops. If you are a camera collector, it’s the place to go. English is spoken at most shops. Also see the used camera ads in camera magazines such as Nippon Camera and Asahi Camera. A copy of Nippon Camera magazine can be ordered from PhotoGuide Japan.

Do any of the camera shops in Japan have web sites in English?

None have web sites in English.

What about camera shops in other cities?

You can retrieve a list of camera shops in other major cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Sapporo by accessing the Japan phone directory on this page:

http://english.itp.ne.jp/

In the Search box, enter the name of the city for “Region” and enter “CAMERA & PHOTO SUPPLIES” for the “Category.” A list of camera shops for that city will appear. Addresses and phone numbers are provided in English.

You can also obtain a more complete list of camera shops in Tokyo if you enter “Tokyo” for “Region.”

How do you rent equipment?

Most of the rental outlets require a hoshonin (guarantor) usually a family member or company superior. If you are not a resident of Japan, chances are that you will not be able to rent equipment.

As for underwater photo equipment, they can also be rented from scuba diving shops.

How do I find a rental studio?

If you can read Japanese, check Commercial Photo magazine’s Web site for a list of studios: http://www.genkosha.com/st2/arh.shtml
The magazine also had ads for rental studios and the Aug. issue includes a rental studio directory. But everything is in Japanese.

You can also access the English phone directory called Town Page at http://english.itp.ne.jp/ and do a search for “photo studios” in the target Japanese city. Note that the results will include portrait studios (non-rental).

How about renting a computer?

We don’t know of any shops where that you can rent and take home a computer.

However, you can do pretty much everything with a computer at a kinko’s store. Or at an Internet cafe. kinko’s is a business service center offering a wide range of photocopying and printing services, and they also rent on-site Windows and Macintosh computers with all the software and peripherals you need. kinko’s has many convenient locations in the major cities (especially Tokyo). All their computers are also connected to the Internet.

Where can I find a complete list of stock photo agencies in Japan?

A more complete list can be found in Japanese in Commercial Photo magazine’s Stock Photo Guide supplement issued every April. The magazine also has photo agency search page here (Japanese only).

Can I make a living as a stock photographer in Japan?

No, don’t quit your day job. Income from stock photography is not enough to live on.

Where can I buy vintage photographs in Japan?

The best place would be Yahoo Japan Auctions or eBay. There are more vintage photos of Japan outside Japan too (as you can see at eBay).

In Tokyo’s Jimbocho, there is Abeno Stamp and Coin and Shinsendo Shoten. Most of the stuff they have are not that rare or top-notch. But you never know.

There are also flea markets and antique fairs where you might find vintage photos and postcards.

If you want high-quality vintage, you’ll have to contact leading dealers such asOld Japan.

I’m an established photographer and I have many photos of so-and-so genre. Can you recommend any agencies to approach?

Sorry, but we cannot make any recommendations, endorsements, etc.

I’m a picture editor for a magazine and need a certain photo of Japan. Can you recommend any agencies to approach?

You can ask me for any images. See my large collection of photos and let me know if you see anything you want.

Where can I study photography in Japan?

Assuming that you can understand Japanese, there are a number of ways to study photography in Japan as ranked below from most difficult to least difficult:

1. Enter a four-year university and major in fine arts or photography. Nihon University in Tokyo has a well-known photography department. You will need to pass the college entrance exam.
2. Enter a 2-year vocational school (senmon gakko) specializing in photography or art. There is no entrance exam, but you will need to understand and read Japanese. You have to be a high school graduate and show that you have enough financial resources to pay the tuition.
3. Take a short-term course at a vocational school or culture center. These are usually held in the evenings or weekends.
4. Take a short-term course held by an organization (camera clubs, photo museums, etc.) or pro photographer.
5. Work as a photographer’s assistant.

Taking a photography class is a great way to meet people having the same interests. The instructors teaching the courses have a wealth of information and knowledge.

What’s it like to attend a photography school (shashin senmon gakko) in Japan?

Well, you do learn how to use different cameras and studio equipment and have a few fun photo sessions with live models (always female and sometimes nude). But the school does not really train you to become a real artist. Attending a photo school in the U.S. is much better.

Nevertheless, attending a photo school in Japan will enable you to meet a few teachers who are prominent Japanese photographers and you can make a lot of friends among your classmates. Knowing people can lead to jobs.

Are there any photo schools which teach in English?

No schools teach in English. However, in Tokyo there are a few photography workshops and classes conducted in English by independent professional photographers. One is called photospace b, run by Andy Barker in Zushi, Kanagawa Pref.

You may find ads for photo lessons in English magazines such as Metropolis (Tokyo), but be wary before signing up. Meet the teacher first and obtain a clear explanation of what you will get in return for a good amount of money. Or contact us for recommendations.

It is a list of major pro photographer associations and imaging industry-related organizations in Japan.

Which photographers’ associations are the most prominent in Japan?

The following three organizations are the most prominent in Japan:

The Photographic Society of Japan (PSJ)
Japan professional Photographers Society (JPS)
Japan Advertising Photographers’ Association (APA)

PSJ is a mix of photographers, amateurs, photo critics, business people, etc. They hold the annual Month of Photography event in Tokyo.

JPS is Japan’s largest organization of pro photographers. Members undergo strict screening to join. The annual membership fee is around 30,000 yen. Their newsletter booklet has an English page. They are very active in promoting/extending photographic copyrights.

APA is for advertising photographers, and like JPS, it is a high-powered group with many prominent Japanese photographers.

Unfortunately, there are hardly any non-Japanese members in these organizations.

What are the benefits of membership?

PSJ offers an informative photo almanac to members.

JPS and APA are prestige organizations and require certain professional qualifications for membership. Thus, many members see membership as a defacto certification proving that they are real professional photographers. They proudly put “Member of JPS (or APA)” on their business cards and resumes.

What about photographers’ associations for foreign photographers in Japan?

The closest to this would be the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. Other than that, there are no professional photographers’ associations for foreigners in Japan. However, PhotoGuide Japan does have an online directory of English-speaking pro photographers in Japan at Photographers Japan. We also have a Facebook Group.

What about camera clubs in Japan?

For amateur photographers, there are many camera clubs sponsored by camera makers (Nikon, Canon, etc.) and film makers. Anybody can join by paying annual membership dues.

Members receive a glossy club magazine, invitations to photo shoots, etc.

Most members are middle-aged and older.