Emily's Kyoto Couple Session, from Fushimi Inari to Gion

Emily and her partner spent a day being photographed through Kyoto, starting at first light among the torii gates of Fushimi Inari Taisha and ending after dark in the lantern-lit streets of Gion.

Emily got in touch wanting something simple: real photographs of a real trip, not a stiff studio sitting or a rushed hotel-lobby portrait. That is a request I love, because it lets the day set the pace rather than the other way around. We started early, before Fushimi Inari filled with the crowds it is famous for, when the vermillion torii gates climbing the mountain were still quiet enough to feel like they belonged to just the two of them. The shrine is one of Kyoto's most recognizable sights, and one of the few places in the city where an early start genuinely changes the photographs you come home with: soft light, empty paths, and a sense of scale to the gates that gets lost later in the day.

We picked the day back up in the evening in Gion, Kyoto's historic geisha district, where the narrow machiya-lined streets and paper lanterns give a completely different mood: warmer, closer, more like wandering than exploring. Moving from a mountain shrine at dawn to a city district at dusk gave the day a natural shape, and gave Emily and her partner two very different versions of Kyoto in a single set of photographs.

As a Japan-based, bilingual photographer who has been featured in British Vogue, I get a fair number of couples asking whether a trip like this is worth building a photography session around. My answer is always the same: Kyoto rewards it, especially when you're willing to start before sunrise.

Vendor credits‍

• Photography: Sofia Hiramatsu Photography

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If you're dreaming of the same

Emily, thank you for letting me spend your Kyoto day with you, from the torii gates at dawn to the lanterns of Gion after dark. If you're planning a trip to Kyoto and want your own version of this story told in photographs, I'd love to hear from you.

For more on planning around Kyoto's seasons, here's my guide to the best time to get married in Japan, and you can see more of my work as a Kyoto wedding and elopement photographer.