
2025 Alpha Awards Photo Competition
Terms and conditions apply.*
$1,000.00 deposit required to secure your spot.
Full cost of event is $11000 per person. Remaining balance minus the deposit will be paid direct to Andy Yee Photography. Any clients outside of Australia and New Zealand that would like to book for this workshop are invited to visit www.andyyee.com to make a reservation
Balance due: 30 November 2023. Maximum group number of participants is 6 people.
Highlights
* Tokyo streets and skyline sunset
* Snow monkeys
* Red Crowned Cranes of Hokkaido
* Mount Fuji
* Biei landscapes
* Shirogane waterfall
* Sapporo Snow Festival
* Otaru Snow Path Festival
* Ebisu Rocks + Nikka Distillery
* Matsumoto Castle
* The food!
* The culture!
Japan Winter Itinerary
Days 1 and 2 — Tokyo
The trip commences in Tokyo. We take in the bustling street life of Japan's very own megalopolis. At this time of year, its possible to capture “Diamond Fuji” with the Tokyo skyline that shows the incredible expanse of this modern city. We also visit some of the picturesque traditional areas and temples at times with less crowds.
Day 3 — Kushiro
We fly from Tokyo to Kushiro on the northern island to spend time photographing the rare and sacred red crowned cranes of Hokkaido. Capturing the cranes dancing in the snowfall is something you will want to witness with a camera in your hand.
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Day 4 — Biei
We then head out into the winter wilderness of the Biei area and its picture perfect snow covered landscapes. Like something out of a fairy tale, the terrain appears perfectly manicured in a frozen setting.
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Day 5 — Sapporo
The largest snow festival in Japan lights up in Sapporo at night with impressive snow and ice sculptures across the city. Street photography in one of the most snowy cities in the world offers exceptional images.
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Day 6 — Otaru
The Otaru Snow Path festival is held in a small fishing village that lights the canal and adorns the village with ice installations. This is a beautiful time to be in Japan with a camera!
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Days 7 and 8 — Jigokudani
We fly from Sapporo to Niigata and head to the land of the snow monkeys. A day with the snow monkeys up in the hills of Jigokudani is something you won’t experience anywhere else in the world. Photographing them during their winter routine of keeping warm while sitting in hot springs in the snow is something remarkable you wont easily forget.
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Day 9 — Mt Fuji
We then head to Matsomoto where the “Black Castle” resides in the center of town. With its surroundings covered in snow, it's a great opportunity to see one of the finest preserved castles in all of Japan.
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A drive to the vicinity of Mount Fuji offers a variety of stunning lakes and landscapes against the background of the majestic Fuji-san.
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Day 10 — Tokyo
We return to Tokyo with a final day to explore. Our tour will conclude at the end of this day and participants can arrange to depart the following day.
The 10 day tour coverages a wide spectrum of photography and will be an unforgettable cultural experience. The trip will allow enough opportunities to capture key moments and also cover editing techniques and processes to help you get the most value out of the trip.