Custom Experience
Hidden Kyoto
Tradition
What’s the Story?
Kyoto is the historical jewel of Japan, filled with temples and shrines exemplifying centuries of history and traditional evolution. The city is rich with heritage and culture. Despite this, it’s easy to get lost or overwhelmed and simply visit the obvious tourist spots. Come with us and we’ll go deeper into the hidden side of Kyoto—to serene Zen temples away from the throngs of tourists or secluded bamboo groves where the only sound is the wind rustling through the leaves.
What We’ll Shoot
Together we’ll capture anything from kimono-clad passersby on the busy streets to ancient architecture left virtually untouched for centuries. We can even explore the grittier side of Kyoto in areas such as Pontocho and Gion, where the tradition blends into the needs of a modern city. Let us know what side of Kyoto you’d like to photograph and we will take you the right spots and make it happen!
Where We’ll Explore
Kyoto is a small town that’s very spread out. We’ll craft a photo adventure that’s both central and off the beaten path, hitting exciting crowd favorites but also taking you to secluded and unique locales that are far from the crowds. We’ll be sure to also go to the best locations based on seasons, so if the sakura are blooming, or the leaves are in their full autumn splendor, you can be sure that we (and your camera) won’t miss it!
Painting with light in Fushimi Inari shrine in KyotoSo, what exactly is a ‘Bespoke Photo Adventure’?
We will put together a customized itinerary for you based on your interests and our expert knowledge of the city. We will pull the best concepts and locations from our well-polished photo adventures and craft an experience that’s unique for you. In addition, our professional guide will pick you up at your hotel at the optimal time to ensure a smooth and efficient day of shooting in the city. And as a bonus, we will also provide, a custom itinerary around your Bespoke Photo Adventure with us. This means that we will help you plan your other shooting days so you can be sure to capture great photos even after our adventure, so you can get insider advice on where to go and what to shoot during the rest of your stay in the city.
In short, a Bespoke Photo Adventure includes the following:
- 5 hours of customized time with a professional photo trainer
- A combination of our best photo adventures or a completely customized itinerary
- Hotel Pick up / Drop off
- Bonus itinerary advice for the rest of your time in the city
Autobiographica –
I did 3 different photo tours with EYExplore, 1 day tour in Tokyo, 1 Cyberpunk night tour in Tokyo, and a day tour in Kyoto. 3 different instructors/guides. All were excellent. I consider myself advanced but learned something new each tour, and found lots of locations i would not have seen on my own. Highly recommend if you’re into photography and want to get some great Japan shots.
RSWiberg –
I recently took an afternoon/evening Kyoto Bespoke Adventure with EYExplore (Paul Crouse) in Kyoto. The six hour tour covered an numerous locations around Kyoto that presented great photographic opportunities. Additionally, Paul was a fantastic instructor and taught me new skills. I highly recommend EYExplore Tours and specifically Paul as a photography guide.
matteofoini –
Review
Planning this activity with EYExplore is probably the best idea I’ve had in recent years! I wanted to make my second visit to Kyoto even more memorable than the first, and with the help of the beautiful crew of EYExplore I really made it. I usually travel alone with the camera as my travel buddy, but I had always used it for simple point-and-shoot in automatic mode, so I wanted to try to learn something more about the world of photography in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. EYExplore is made of exceptional professionals who not only really master the “art of light”, but is also capable of translating that magic into real tips that even a novice like me could play with and enjoy so much. A six hours journey to build new skills and experiment in different light conditions, while visiting areas of the city that even top travel book guides don’t know of! Thank you EYExplore, I look forward to booking my next adventure with you in Japan!! Matteo
suebloo –
Absolutely superb photography tour. I do a photography tour every time I go somewhere interesting on holiday and eye explore are the best company I have used. I did their tours in Tokyo which were brilliant, and in Kyoto. When we arrived for our private tour in Kyoto nothing was too much trouble for our wonderful guide, he even devised a special tour to accommodate our difficulties at no extra cost. We learnt so much about our cameras and composition, he even managed to take us to a spot where we got the most amazing shots of geisha walking by! I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. What ever your standard, we had very mixed ability, they will teach you how to get great shots and take you to the places to get them.
Caroline –
Extremely late review as we had two workshops in November of last year. My sister and I booked the Inari workshop and the Street Photography one in Kyoto. We had Axel as a teacher and we couldn’t be happier. These guys deserve far more than 5 out of 5. They’re knowledgeable, nice and friendly. They will make you feel at ease. They’re also able to cater to different levels of photography among a group. I loved the fact that we visited the town, took pictures and improved our photography at the same time. We were able to use what we learnt later during our trip and it was great. If I could, I would have done all their workshops hahaha Don’t hesitate to book, they’re awesome.
Elaine C –
We did this workshop in July 2017 and although the weather was not the best Alex made the experience very good. You could tell that the tour was well planned every minute was taken up with taking photos. I have been on a tour in England and it wasn’t a patch . Although the tour may seem expensive you come away with great shots. If I was in Kyoto again I would certainly go on another workshop.
Michelle-MXNYC –
This is a long-overdue review of the two-day personalized photo tour my husband and I took with EYExplore in Tokyo (Metropolis) in February 2018. Undoubtedly, both Axel and Lukasz are amazing photographers and teachers. But what really sets these two apart from the multitude of good photographers out there is their intuitive ability to identify placements, timings, and locations that result in the amazing images photographers dream of. The photographs we took during this tour were beyond anything we could have achieved on our own simply by spending ten days photographing the popular sights of Tokyo. The images we captured were only possible through Axel and Lukasz’ intimate knowledge of the city, commitment to studying the locations on offer, and incredible eye for candid shots. Axel and Lukasz also know what they’re doing in terms of business, their target audience, and the fact that a ton of photographers or photography enthusiasts use social media. They tapped into this expertise to deliver a workshop that featured fantastic street photography opportunities of temples and other sights that would look impressive on Instagram while teaching us powerful shortcuts and user secrets that helped us to use our DSLR cameras better. We loved our experience with EyeExplore (particularly the subway shots and Inari After Dark) and would recommend it for novice and more seasoned photographers alike. Axel and Lukasz will help you to better use a super sophisticated camera or create impressive images using just your iPhone. If you complete this tour, you will not be disappointed; you will leave Japan with a portfolio of fantastic images that would otherwise be virtually impossible to shoot in a short period of time without deep knowledge of the city.