Top rated ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ on Tripadvisor, Google & Airbnb

Photography + Tours

Solo | Couple | Family Portrait | Engagement

Discover Kyoto with a local photographer who not only will guide you, but also capture your memories with stunning photos to share and cherish for years to come.

The iconic sights of Kyoto (Gion, Higashiayama, Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest etc.) are in 3 corners of the city, so your private photographer makes it happen for you to have a rich, smooth experience & amazing memories.

Packages to choose from:

1 hour Kyoto Photo shoot in an epic location (Gion)

Half-day Kyoto photo tour in top 2 locations

Full-day Kyoto photo tour in top 4 locations

Secret Proposal Photoshoot in epic, serene locations

Kimono Photoshoot in Kyoto.

Additional Services:

Help with kimono booking
Early morning shoot to avoid the crowd
Photoshoot in Osaka, Nara, Tokyo, Naoshima, Mount Fuji, etc. available
Tips on good restaurants, experiences, travel, hotel etc.
Arrange a private car upon request (6 hrs)

Contact Me

Cancellation Policy

Free cancellation 14 days before the shoot (full refund minus paypal fees)

Picture Yourself!

Why Me?

I am Matt. Nice to meet!

As a professional photographer, with 7 years of experience and over 1200 photo shoots under my belt, my passion is to capture clean, natural, minimalistic images in epic backgrounds. Don’t worry about posing. I help you bring your natural and your best in the final images.

Outside photography, my passion is philosophy, history and languages, so you will learn about Japanese culture, Kyoto history and stories to give each fact a proper context. And also some terrible jokes along the way.

Kyoto's 4 Main Areas

Gion/Higashiayam (East Kyoto): Geisha District, Kamo River, Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Ninenzaka, Yasaka Pagoda, Kiyomizu Temple famous for its geishas, tea houses, souvenir shops and centuries of history and culture.
Arashiyama (West Kyoto): Bamboo Forest, Katsura River, Tenryu-ji Temple, Kameyama Park, Kimono Forest are famous for their natural beauty and ahem “tranquility”.
Fushimi Inari (South Kyoto): 10,000 tori gates that wind their way to the summit of Mount Inari. This is where religion and business intersect.
Golden Pavilion (North Kyoto): Golden Pavilion or Kinkakuji is famous for its gold covered zen temple.

What my clients have to say

"Had an awsome experience with Matt. He was very friendly and gave a lot of background information on Fushimi Inari. He made me feel very comfortable and at ease during the shoot and gave good directions for different poses. The pictures are absolutely amazing, great quality and he got them back to me very quickly. Highly recommend this experience."

Melissa (USA) Airbnb

"Matt was awsome! We did the half-day photo tour of Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari. He's super flexible and willing to build an itinerary that caters to what you'd like to see, which was perfect. He was kind enough to wake up at 5am to that we could go as early as possible to avoid the crowds, which proved to be very worthwhile. We were able to explore and take photos at these beautiful locations without any people around."

Daniele (Philipines) airbnb

"Explored the most photogenic spots of Kyoto all the while learning history of these places. Matt was well versed in the history of well known places such as the Gion District, Fushimi Inari and so besides getting some amazing photos, I also received some awesome history lessons. Speaking of photos, Matt has an excellent eye and thus chose the best spots to take photos. As a result, I left Kyoto with great photos to remember of the trip. I would highly recommend this tour to all kinds of travelers."

Jon (USA) Tripadvisor