Osaka photography is excellent and there’s lots of different and interesting things to photograph and always something to shoot in the city. Take all you gear and lenses because in a city like this you’ll want them all.
I didn’t spend long in Dotonburi and didn’t really shoot much of it, but that’s the place you’ll see thousands of photos at when you google “Osaka Photography”. If you go during the day it’s a bit boring and not much happening. At night, Dotonburi comes alive and when the neon lights come on, about half an hour after sunset, that’s when you need to get your gear out and find a good position. If you’re really serious about Osaka Photography, I’d go during the day to suss out some good photo spots then come back at night. Drag the shutter a bit to get rid of all the people for something different. I wasn’t that impressed with Dotonburi photography-wise, but you will be if you’ve never been to Japan.
Osaka Photography – Dotonburi
Osaka Castle is pretty much a must-visit on any Osaka photography tour. I didn’t like it that much because there were too many people there and Iw as experimenting with some Seagull 400 Black and White film and didn’t really like the results. The images came out quite flat with not much contrast. Part of that was the light, it was overcast, and probably the other part was I’m a shit photographer! If I was to go back to Osaka Castle, I’d bring 16 stops worth of ND Filters, shoot it with a 16mm (24mm DX) and try to get some long exposures for something different and get rid of most of the people in the shot. Pigeon man is worth hanging around for 15-20 minutes as tourists try and get in the mix and take photos of pigeons on themselves.
Osaka Photography – Osaka Castle with Seagull 400, Leica M6
The Expo ’70 Commemorative Park outside Osaka is not only an excellent place to visit with kids, but to go with Osaka photography in mind. There’s quite a few good photos spots around this park so take your time and do some exploring. The website is here, (in English) or you can find out more about it in our Things to Do in Osaka section. It’s a bit far out so hire a car.
Just walk around the city near the HEP Five Ferris wheel (which is not worth actually riding on), and you’ll get loads of great street shots. Also check out something like Bic Camera inside, around 6-7p.m and that’s worth a few indoor shots. There’s loads of things to photograph in Osaka, so I usually bring my Leica MP with 35mm Summicron, my Fuji X-Pro 2 with 16mm, 35mm and 56mm, the later two which I no longer have, so I’d replace those with the 55-200mm and you definitely need one wide angle.
Send us any questions or comments you have about Osaka photography via email or ask us on twitter
Go back to the home page of our Osaka Destination Guide