Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 10s, f/11, ISO160

It’s already been a few months since I traveled to Japan. I had accompanied my parents on an all-too-short tour of Kyushu, the southern main island of the country. The flight over the pacific was nearly 9-hours, just as long as I remembered half my lifetime ago when I had last visited. This time, though, there was a lay-over in Haneda and an additional 1-hour plane ride to Fukuoka, not to mention all of the virus precaution procedures in a foreign language challenges with a group of 40 or so elder statesmen and women. It was enough to land safely and get to the hotel for a good rest.

Photographically, I packed one camera body (X-T4), my 3 prime lenses (XF 16mm f/1.4R WR, XF 35mm f/1.4R, and XF 56mm f/1.2R), my Really Right Stuff tripod with rubber feet, a tiny Godox flash (which I never ended up using), my Nisi filter kit, and some miscellaneous accessories.

On the walk in to the hotel, I thought: “there might be some photographic opportunities in the morning nearby.” I woke up before my alarm, which was true most days of the tour. I looked out the hotel window and took a few not-worth-sharing photos. I went down the elevator and out into the perfect 50°F-ish weather, set the tripod down in a spot and snapped a few frames before having to head back in to meet the group for breakfast. Two regrets right away. One, I wish I had taken a lot more photos! I get in my head that where I am isn’t pretty enough to warrant the effort of using the “big camera,” and then wonder why I don’t have more photos to feature. Two, I rarely had enough time in any one place to “plus-ultra” on my photos and get something truly special, but that is life on a tour I guess. This first photo is from one of many canals in Fukuoka city.

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/250s, f/11, ISO160

One of the first tour stops that I have photographic documentation of is of the outside of the Kirin brewery factory(?). I’m more of an Asahi SuperDry fan myself, and I’d love to tell you more about manufacturing beer, but sadly, the place was not accepting tours at this time. For reference, Japan had JUST opened up after lockdown not long before, but not all tourists spots felt safe resuming tours as they normally had done before. The other reason we stopped here, though, is that Kirin has a significant acreage dedicated Cosmos flowers that bloom this time of year.

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/200s, f/2, ISO160

I used the XF 16mm f/1.4R WR lens a LOT on this trip. I needed a good reason to switch to any other lens, so you’ll be seeing it a lot. I think if I had just one lens to travel with from my kit, it would be this one, but thankfully my kit is small enough to accommodate more. So this is a Cosmos flower. They come in many variations in the white to pink to purple color spectrum. As you can imagine, I have several variations of this photo. So I thought: “how can I be more creative?”

Photographers like to make messy photos, I’m finding. “What can I do to make this image more interesting?” is the thought. I know! I’ll add some flaws! Isn’t that the truth though. I see photographers purposefully adding flare, and not the J.J. Abrahms kind either; put stuff in front of the lens to gussy up a perfectly nice frame in the name of artistry. “I bet no one thought of that!” Shrugs, what can I say, I’m not immune.

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/60s, f/11, ISO160

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/250s, f/8, ISO160

Of course we visited a shrine or three. This is the Tenmangu Shrine, dedicated to the spirit of Sugawara Michizane (845-903) of the Heian period in Japan history. There’s an interesting story to hear about Sugawara-san and the Plum trees on either side of the temple walkway pictured above. (It’s probably more photogenic in the spring time). I’m always amused when I get to do something I learned from watching LOTS of anime, and one of those things is how to make a prayer offering: Bow deeply twice, clap your hands twice, offer a prayer, then bow once and take your leave. One more regret that I have: I should’ve picked up more charms! I like having one for my car so I asked our gracious guide which of them was appropriate for vehicle safety and picked one up for myself. Needless to say, Christmas soon came around and while I was wrapping presents I realized… charms are a great gift-include!

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/2000s, f/4, ISO400

After visiting the temple, our Tohoku guide led the group on a short stroll to a little shop in a nearby mall selling the local specialty “umegae-mochi” which is a mashed sweet red bean inner with mochi surrounding it and grilled panini-style. A dish certainly enjoyed fresh off the press! It was delicious, particularly when the weather is nice and cool! One thing about Japanese culture I must mention here, is that it can be very difficult to find a trash bin sometimes, despite how clean the streets always are because folks are expected to take their rubbish home with them? This practice definitely took a bit of getting used to.

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/4000s, f/4, ISO1000

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16mm f/1.4 R WR: 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO800

The last tour stop of the day brought us to the Machiya Furusato Museum that celebrates Hakata history and cultural heritage. One of those is the annual float-running event. I was caught a bit off-guard when a person not with the tour group stepped in front of the float for a photo! On a whim I decided to snap a photo to use for scale. Had I been more prepared, I would’ve closed the aperture to f/11 or f/16 to get a spiky sun-flare (like with the tree a few photos above) and reduced the shutter speed some to compensate for the closed aperture. Yes, these floats are HUGE and weigh a literal ton and men carry them running a 5 kilometers in July! The middle of summer (albeit VERY early, 4:59am to be most precise)! But still! Just thinking about the humidity in Japan in the summer time is making me sweat!

Last, but certainly not least; in fact, the very MOST thing I was looking forward to on this tour and very near to the museum is the Meigetsudo shop that sells Hakata Torimon! This little snack has imprinted in my brain since the first time I had tried them many years ago and I will never forget them. Though I did forget to take a photo of them 😭. And this concludes day 1.

Kyushu Tour Day 1