With the popularity of Japanese pop culture rife on DeviantART with the masses of fan art and 'every man and his dog' attempting the manga style, I just thought I might show the masses what the real Japan was like.

Having lived in Saitama for 2 years and travelled around the country more than most Japanese themselves, I've seen sights that cannot compare with what one sees in pop culture mediums. Sure you see the kind of shenanigans that Japan is famous for, like rabid crazy school girls in outlandish sailor uniforms [link] to scary cos-players [link] astounding temples, et butwhat you see outside the urban sprawl is what really makes you believe you are in the far east.

The purpose of this news article is to try to paint a different, more 'realistic' view on Japan through photography. I'm tired of people saying that I'm lucky to live here just because I live 20 minutes away from Akihabara [link] ... The real beauty of Japan lies in it's countryside, not the cheap plastic mass-produced reality of the city that many tourists never venture beyond. If any of you are thinking of visiting Japan, aside from simply visiting one of the major cities, please try to reach some place with trees, or at least somewhere where you're not always drowning in a sea of black hair.

With that thought in mind, these are photos of scenes not often seen when one thinks of Japan. Sure there are astonishing shots of temples, people, and nature. But these are shots hidden under all those shots of Mt. Fuji, Akihabara, Harajuku, Cityscapes and these types of scenes. These are shots of places or events you would only know about if you either a) Live here and heard from friends about these places, or b) really took an interest in the more remote areas of Japan and made an effort to visit.

First and foremost these photos are supposed to represent what I consider what i think the world should think of when people think of Japan. Not just it's pop culture and cool things like ninja and sushi.

Enjoy.

Listed in no particular order...

My own -