p.1 #1 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
I have wanted to visit Japan for over 40 years. I recently booked a trip for late March early April 2026 during cherry blossom season. Since I have been wanting to go on this trip for over 40 years, that means I'm old now. I have done many photography workshops around the world but this is not a photography workshop. I plan to do some photo tours of Tokyo that last a few hours each and then I will be on a 10 day non photo specific group tour.
I want to travel light yet have the gear I need to get the images I have been waiting 40 years to take.
I plan to bring a Fuji X100VI for sure but I know that will not be enough. I have other cameras and lenses but traveling small and light is the key here as I will be traveling on my own for part of the trip and taking trains.
My ideas are in addition to the Fuji and my iPhone 17 pro something like a pocket camera with a long zoom range and/or a small mirrorless camera with 2 small lenses. I don't need to carry it all al the time. Usually when I have traveled previously I have an entire rolling bag of photo gear and I want to avoid that.
p.1 #2 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
My non-photographer sister-in-law did a similar tour this last year and enjoyed it a lot. Some parts were rather structured and tight scheduled but overall the timing was right and she had a good time. I don't recall if she took her old dslr or just did phone?
I'm a Sony user so not up on Fuji for suggestions. I'd suggest starting there with the idea handling and menus, etc., might be similar. Maybe you could give us a target with other cameras and lenses you have so we know where to go down from?
p.1 #3 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
I have options of several camera and lenses Fuji, Sony or Nikon but being that I want to go light. I'm thinking Fuji X-T5 or Sony A7CII since rain is a potential issue water resistance is important.
So something like:
Sony a7CII
24mm 2.8
40mm 2.5 ?
85mm F1.8 or 90mm 2.8
or
Fuji X-T5
16mm 2.8 or 18mm 2
50mm 2
These are all small light lenses.
Plus a tiny point and shoot like Panasonic Lumix SZ99 which has an equivalent of 24-700mm FL
I need to weigh and size both options.
I have always thought I could be happy with a 35mm and 85 or 90mm 2 camera set up, the Sony gets me there but the Fujifilm not quite,
I could imagine sometimes going out with just the Fuji X100VI somedays but other days going with the X100 along with one of the other cameras with the longer lens.
Filter size compatibility is also and important. I just want to bring a few small ones.
I figure someone else here has had a similar dilemma so I'm throwing it out here.
Thanks
p.1 #4 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
It's been 40 plus years since I was in Japan, camera and lens choices have changed massively since then. I tend to be a zoom user. Although a body and prime could often be lighter than a body and zoom, then one may carry a couple of lenses and be swapping as needed. No insight on suggesting primes, really. Perhaps a tad chunkier than primes, the 20-70/4.. I recently added one and am still getting used to what it offers. My usual "travel" zoom is the 28-200 but that's for California and the west. I'd think Tokyo and broader Japan might be more similat to New York and maybe it's a good one lens zoom approach - but I think I'd maybe expand some. But one lens? If it's a kit that you'd like for the east coast crowded city, etc., I'm guessing it's a fairly well suited option or options. If you usually find longer focal length subjects, you'll find them there.
Here's a fairly recent video from a Sony "influencer/user" and a 2024 trip to cover cherry blossom time after an earlier trip had some weather problems. He might have different gear ideas or trip approaches but it could offer some much more current insight into cherry blossom travel and photography than I could.
He's got a range of other travel and gear info for Japan and Sony, too.
Sony ideas? If you haven't tried the A7C series,spend some time with one. Not everyone likes the feel and handling and/or the finders. But others find them very competent smaller cameras and well worth trading off some things to get the smaller sizes. I started with aps-c before adding ff so I have an A6700 for size comps with the A7Cs and have an A7Riv but you're looking smaller.
If the a7C and ff lenses seem a bit too big, the A6700 and smaller aps-c lenses are out there, too. I like the 18-135 but it's like the 28-200 but smaller. There isn't a lens comparable to the 20-70 in aps-c. There's the 17-40/1.8 Sigma but it's not "light" and maybe not enough focal length range but a nice match with the A6700.
p.1 #5 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
Thanks for the link Craig, I'll check out that video. I have watched some of his YouTube videos before but that one hasn't come up in my feed.
I have used the A7C and later the A7CII for quite some time and I am comfortable with it. I have been into photography for over 50 years and I prefer small light lenses in general especially for street photography in cities. For zooms I do like a 70-200 but not for this type of city travel. I will be doing some night shooting so a reasonably fast lens is important but 1.2 or 1.4 isn't necessary. To me a 24-70 is not wide enough, not long enough and too big, even the F4 version (which I have had many).
I imagine going out evening with the Fuji X100VI and the A7C with the Sigma 90mm 2.8 as the lens is only 10.4 oz / 295 g.
I'm kind of wondering if a fujifilm set up could be smaller or lighter than a Sony set up. But I'm leaning more towards the Sony.
p.1 #6 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
Fujifilm would be aps-c, you could go 40 mp or 26 mp bodies, the 26 mp would be like the 26 mp Sony A6700. So either could potentially use smaller and/or lighter lenses than ff on the A7Cs. Much of the size would be determined by the bodies (haven't followed Fuji so not sure on body sizes there) as well as the lens choices.
Aps-c in Sony - A6700 at 26 mp. Then the various aps-c lenses could be smaller than the ff Sonys, depending on selections of course. The 18-135 is nicely smaller than the comparable 28-200.There are no aps-c lenses directly comparable to the 20-70 or 20-200. The A7CR is A7C size but with 61 mp still gives 26 mp when in crop or using aps-c lenses - a bit out of the box but adds more flex in lens choices?
p.1 #7 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
Thanks for your help thinking this out. I'm not interested in zooms for this trip and want to go with what I've got.
I am a camera geek and I actually have Sony a7CII, Fuji XT-5, Fuji XT-50, X100VI and Nikon ZF along with the lenses mentioned above.
I'm leaning towards:
Sony a7CII (with battery and card) 1.1 lb / 514 g
24mm 2.8 49mm 5.7 oz / 162 g
40mm 2.5 49mm 6.1 oz / 173 g
90mm 2.8 Sigma 55mm 10.4 oz / 295 g
Fuji X100VI 49mm (with battery and card) 1.1 lb / 521 g
Panasonic SZ99
I'm imagining I would use the Fuji X100 the most and the Sony with the 40 or 90 the next most.
The Panasonic for the long zoom (instead of a individual zoom lens) which I don't think would be that much but the camera is tiny and has a huge zoom range up to 700mm equivalent.
p.1 #8 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
As somebody who lives in Japan, has done sakura trips, and taken MANY trips around Asia....
Just bring your iphone and the X100VI. If you've been wanting to take this trip for 40 years, don't bog yourself down with camera gear to decide between each time you leave the hotel. Take the Fuji everywhere, take amazing photos with it, and travel light(er) than you would if it was a dedicated photo trip. You will be able to get incredible photos with your X100 and phone.
p.1 #10 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
I have been to Japan several times and spent a total of two years living there. My interests and preferences are naturally different now from what visitors may think of seeing when planning their first trip to Japan. For example, I would want to minimize the time spent in large cities to one - maximum two nights.
On the next trip, in 2026, I would take two cameras, one with an F2.8 zoom covering from at least 20mm to, or near, 50mm. The second camera would have a zoom reaching to at least 150mm, but more preferably to 200 or even 300mm (all full-frame equivalent focal lengths).
I have different options for both cameras, as I have three kits: micro-four-thirds, full-frame, and a large(medium) format. If you want a light and compact wide zoom, Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 is a good option on a Sony body.
For a medium telephoto, among my options (Tamron 35-150 mm F2-2.8, Tamron 50-400mm f4.5-6.3, Sony 70-200mm f2.8 GMII, Olympus 35-150mm f2.8) I would most likely take the Olympus with my OM-1 II. Another, lighter and more compact micro-four-thirds medium telephoto zoom is Panasonic Leica 35-100mm f2.8.
The need for a medium telephoto is for street photography when you may see something interesting, yet would like to stay respectfully at a distance. This isn't an uncommon situation in a city in Japan.
When traveling in new places where different and possibly unexpected photography opportunities may present themselves, it would be wise to travel with zooms, even for a dedicated prime lens user, in my opinion and experience. While primes promise the ultimate image quality, I would hate missing a shot simply because I don't have the right focal length and no time to change lenses.
Another consideration that is important to me is the camera IBIS. This should preferably rated to at least 7.5 stops of image stabilization. When all shooting is done handheld, then the opportunity to use slow shutter speeds (at or close to 1s) with good IBIS can be priceless in low light.
p.1 #12 · Japan trip during cherry blossom sakura season
What you travel with is also dependent upon how deliberate you tend to be when taking pictures and what you like to take pictures of. Cherry blossom season will be packed with visitors, whether it be Kyoto, or Ueno Park (tokyo) or out in the mountains. Often the "right shot" devoid of interference (or people!) will be fleeting... Given your desire to travel light, the Fuji X100vi and your iPhone can suffice as a "pocket camera" and the Sony A7 w/85/1.8 as a bonus. I would suggest a small lightweight tripod that you can use for "overhead" shots (since you have an articulating view screen) that you can use for shots "above" the crowds.
Save some time to check out the "denki-ya" such as Yodobashi or Bic Camera. Note: domestic gear is cheaper than "international" versions, but the menus are often language locked with domestic-only warranty...
What route are you going on your 10 day post Tokyo trip?
