August 11th, 2016 marked Japan’s first even “Mountain Day”. As it is a national holiday, I ventured out by myself to the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden in search for Sunflowers!

Sunflowers have always been a favorite flower of mine since I was a child. To me, they have always represented brightness and standing tall. Growing up in Florida, we never had Sunflowers native to the area, but over the past few years since moving to Japan I have learned that Sunflowers = Summer here. I love how each season has a distinct set of activities to do and look forward to, especially with nature.

I decided on the Nunobiki Herb Garden because a friend of mine had taken me there in May last year and I had fallen in love with the place. I am a sucker for flowers and I just knew that I had to go back…. and now here I am! When I heard that they had a Sunflower field, I knew it would be the perfect spot for me to begin my photography ventures and my travels around Kansai. Kobe wasn’t too far away from where I live in Osaka and it was fairly easy to get to, located just outside of Shin-Kobe station. On top of that, you have an breathtaking view of the Kobe harbor while riding up the Ropeway to the top. I spent about 2 hours wandering around the place and experimenting with my Canon EOS Rebel T2i.

Are there any places that you recommend going to? Please let me know those places and what you think of these photography posts in the comments below!