Japan & Boudoir Photography: Part 4
Before our crew headed to Tokyo, we went to Nachi Falls to see the gorgeous waterfall. The only problem…it was like 1.239 gazillion stairs to get there! Ok…maybe not that many, Wikipedia says it was only 297, but I realllllyyyy think it was more than that. The view was definitely worth it though!
Now for what was definitely my craziest story of the trip. That night we stayed in Toba at this hotel that was perfectly situated in the rocks. When I got there and looked out at the epic scenery, my jaw dropped. I knew I had to shoot a woman out there! We all went to the onsen (public bath) together and I realized that this onsen was basically in a CAVE!!! It was SO incredible. I couldn’t get out of my head how stunningly beautiful that spot would be at sunrise. So I cautiously approached one of the women on the trip to ask if 1) She’d allow me to shoot her and 2) If she wouldn’t mind getting up at sunrise for it even though we were all running on not a whole lot of sleep? She agreed even though she “didn’t think she’d be the best model for me” which is pretty much what most of my clients think before I get them in front of my camera-which meant she was perfect!!!
We showed up right when they opened at 5:00am to try to avoid other women. I thought that we’d surely have the place to ourselves for at least half an hour or so. Enough time to really get some epic stuff. Nope nope nope. Apparently, sunrise time is onsen primetime. There were about 60 women inside. I gave my client a look and she assured me that she didn’t mind there being people around and I certainly didn’t want her to have nothing to show for getting up so early so we decided I could still probably grab a handful of shots by the mouth of the cave. That was the farthest point from the rest of the bathers and would place everyone else about 10 feet behind me making it impossible for anyone else to be in my shot besides my willing subject. I really wanted to make sure no one got uncomfortable. In case you didn’t have a chance to read Part 2, keep in mind we’re ALL 100% naked. All of us. Including me.
So I pose my client, get into position (with my bare butt to the entire cave of women) and snap a shot. Apparently, an older Japanese woman did not like the shot. At all. She started yelling in Japanese while at the same time trying to splash me. Then as I turn around, she whips me with a towel right on my bare ass cheek, and then screamed the only English I understood, “CRIMINAL! I CALL THE POLICE!” As she ran (again, naked) to call security. We also did a naked dart to the locker rooms, threw our robes on as quickly as possible and retreated from the onsen. As we exited, security was rounding the corner with a walkie talkie pressed to his ear FBI-style. I remember thinking, “I’ve always thought I’d eventually make a call to my husband from jail…guess this is it…” As he approached, my heart nearly exploded out of my chest only to have him softly say, "no pictures, please" with a bow. Thankfully, that was it. My client and I got back toward our rooms (she was laughing about the whole thing, while it took me a solid hour for my heart rate to come down.) And we only got that one image…the image though…totally worth it. The most impressive part was my client's ability to follow my directions and hold the pose, stay serene with shoulders relaxed throughout what was probably only a 20 second ordeal, but felt like 20 hours.
SO. Lots of firsts that day. Never shot while being naked. Never been assaulted. Never been assaulted naked in front of 60 other naked women. And don’t worry-for the trip AdventureWomen and I are planning in the future, everything will be figured out ahead of time and we won’t risk the craziness that ensued, lol! Ahhhhh…the learning curve. I am so found of it.
On the way to Tokyo we had lunch with two traditional Ama divers. Ama divers are Japanese women who deep dive without equipment for all sorts of things: types of seafood, pearls, etc. They dive every day during the warm season for hours at a time. They actually cooked for us what they caught the day before and it was definitely some of the freshest fish I’ve ever tasted! What was more fascinating though, was them telling us about their lives. Apparently, traditional Ama diving is dying out. Both women said they couldn’t remember a generation in their lineage where the women weren’t divers, yet they both have daughters who aren’t pursuing the trade. They also explained that the reason behind not using equipment was because it helped them “not take too much.” I thought that was such a beautiful reason. Especially when my life always seems to trend towards whatever is fastest, easiest, and most convenient. Their hearts were so honest and authentic. OH! And they are 55 and 66 years old! Seriously, ladies. Age really is just a number.
Last, we headed to Tokyo for a few days. It was everything a sky-scraper filled, concrete-jungle, city-on-steriods should be with it’s own unique flavor. We saw the weird, wacky and flashy as well as the meticulously, elegant gardens and greenery. We also traipsed around eating our little hearts out because all of the food in Japan was SO GOOD. Including our last night there where we dined high above the gorgeous city. There was a moment during that final dinner when I looked around and realized that just two weeks before, all of the women talking and laughing around me had been strangers. Now, some of them felt like family. We’d laughed, adventured and built a thousand memories over our trip. Once-in-a-lifetime experiences, rounds of cards, great conversations, glasses of wine, walks in the wilderness, connecting with women whose lives are so different than ours, yet finding we aren’t that different at all. Each little moment built in me a special bond with these incredible women. Traveling together is definitely my favorite way to build new friendships.
