Road trip with tokyo grapher
A trip around the Fuji Five Lakes in early spring Vol.1
Every year, when the long winter comes to an end in March, I can't help but want to drive somewhere to take pictures.
When I visited the Fuji Five Lakes around this time last year, I was able to see lakes, forests, and plateaus shrouded in mist. Every time I remember that extraordinary and beautiful sight, I want to drive to that place even now. I decided to go to the Fuji Five Lakes in early spring again this year with my friends in search of the scenery that has become a fantasy that has remained in my mind for a long time.
This road trip is a trip of 4 days and 3 nights including staying in the car.
We left Osaka at night and arrived at Lake Tanuki at the foot of Mt.Fuji at dawn. There, the Tokyo group and the Niigata group will join together, and a total of 13 photography-loving friends will travel by car while looking for photogenic locations around the Fuji Five Lakes.
Without asking, the purpose is "to capture the image I envisioned".
Fuji seen from the lake at dawn
It was 4:30 when we arrived at the meeting place, Lake Tanuki, after arriving in Osaka late at night the previous day. The sun rose at 5:35 that day, so I gave up on taking a nap and waited for the arrival of the other teams while drinking coffee to calm my drowsiness.
This morning, the expected fog seems to have given up, but the weather looks like we can expect upside-down Mt. Fuji reflected on the surface of the lake.
Actually, Lake Tanuki is a man-made lake that is not included in the Fuji Five Lakes, and it was only a few decades ago that it was expanded to its current size. Mt.Fuji seen in front of you can see the west side where there is a major collapse.
It's 5 o'clock when the sky starts to whiten. The Tokyo group has arrived.
There are 9 male members and 4 female members. There are iPhoneographers like me who stick only to the iPhone, and there are medium format film cameras such as DSLR and Hasselblad.
After exchanging greetings with the members I met for the first time, I immediately headed to the lakeside where it started to get bright.
Mt. Fuji appears and hides in the flowing clouds. However, the surface of the lake was calm, so Mt. Fuji was beautifully reflected in the background of the morning sun.
At the pier of my favorite shooting spot on Lake Tanuki, there was already a previous angler. I couldn't say that I could get away with it, so I tried taking various pictures of fishermen as subjects. The haze on the surface of the lake and the reflection of the sky were fantastic.
The real thrill of a road trip
The sun is getting a little higher. I decided to head to the next destination and started the car. I have plenty of time, so I purposely take a road I've never run before. I wonder if I ran just 10 minutes from Lake Tanuki. The car ahead slowed down with its hazard lights flashing.
After all it is so. When I parked the car on the side of the road and got off, there was a nice forest road with a little mist.
Needless to say, one of the best things about road trips is that you can do it however you like. If you find an interesting place or beautiful scenery, you can park your car on the side of the road and take a short detour.
Even if it's only 10 minutes from the starting point (laughs)
To be continued
Text by Koichi Miyase
Photography by Koichi Miyase and Akihito Nagata
Photographic equipment / iPhone 6S + tokyo grapher, Canon EOS 5D Mark2
Vehicle / Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
