The bats in the tree are the Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) and in Okinawa Main Island we have the subspecies Orii’s fruit bat (P. d. inopinatus). The bats were feasting on the fruit of the areca palms (Dypsis lutescens). They were so busy chewing away, they didn’t care about me taking pics. Sony A7RIV with Sony 70-200mm lens.
RIP Seiki Takushi 1939-2026 Goju-ryu, Kobudo Matayoshi-kei Hanshi 10th Dan who passed away this week. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and students around the world. On July 27th 2026 he was awarded the title of Preserver of Okinawa Prefecture’s Designated Intangible Cultural Property: “Okinawan Karate and Kobujutsu” Photographed July 18, 2014 at the Karate Kaikan, Okinawa for the Karate Masters Portrait Project.
On August 2nd 2026 the Nago Haari (dragon boat races) took place in the Nago City port, northern Okinawa. I was part of the Yambaru DMO team, but instead of rowing, I spent the race crouched at the bow taking photos. Thankfully, my extra weight didn’t slow the team down; we still crossed the finish line first! These wide-angle shots were with the Sony A7RIV with the 14mm 1.8 lens, held about 20 cm from the surface of the water as I leaned out of the boat. It was great to see so many different boats competing, with teams of local Okinawans and Americans. These telephoto shots were with the 70-200mm lens.
Starting in April 2026, I have a new client, the Okinawa Yambaru DMO, for whom I will be working as their official photographer. The Okinawa Yambaru DMO has been created with the goals of promoting tourism in the Yambaru region, enhancing its appeal, and promoting sustainable community development.The DMO will collaborate with businesses, local government, and residents so that it benefits both visitors to the Yambaru and the people who live there. The Yambaru region is made up of the 12 municipalities of northern Okinawa Prefecture: Kunigami, Ogimi, Higashi, Motobu, Nakijin, Nago, Onna, Ginoza, Kin, Ie, Iheya, and Izena. I’ll be documenting cafes and restaurants. The endemic Yambaru wildlife both on land, and underwater. The local festivals and the farming community. Marine sports whether you surf, or stand-up-paddle. And the many other activities such as visting botanical gardens, studying with karate masters, or simply cruising around the island. This is a great opportunity to share my love of northern Okinawa with the world 🙂
The latest edition of the Fodor’s Essential Japan travel guidebook is now on sale. Yuki and I updated the Hokkaido, Western Honshu, Kyushu, and Okinawa chapters. This will be my 7th update for Fodor’s Japan. I got my start writing the update for the Okinawa chapter in the 2012 edition. Japan is a fantastic place to visit, and I love being able to share some of my favorite places with the world.
In October, I had the pleasure of photographing the beautiful wedding of Manon & Jeff. It was a delightful open-air ceremony at Sara-no-ue-no-shizen & il Gastro Sara (皿の上の自然& il Gastro Sara), location photography among the orchids at Bios botanical gardens, then the reception back at il Gastro Sara. The reception was fantastic with an amazing array of fine food created by the chefs at il Gastro Sara. Thank you so much for having me as your photographer on your special day.
The karate interview series is back! Watch a 6 minute preview of Episode 1, then I give some updates on Series 3. Huge thank you to those who’ve already made donations as sponsors or supporters for Series 3. SERIES THREE SPONSORS Martin Pinto – Essex Goju Ryu Karate Series Three – Supporters Artur Carballo Justin Sheehy Olaf Steinbrecher Masaru Hoshi K.R. Ruiz Click here to learn more about the documentary series, and how you can help!
Back in 2017, Zachary bought his wife Kelley a location / studio portrait session for Christmas. Kelley had amazing ideas inspired by classic Disney movies, so we went with a demure princess look amongst Okinawa’s cosmos flowers, then transformed her into an all-powerful queen. With Kelley looking magnificent (or possibly Maleficent), we shot in the studio, then headed over to Bise Village to get images at the beach and amongst the fukugi trees. Zachary was even willing to step in front of the camera so that Queen Kelley could demonstrate the true power of the crown. Over the past 8 years, Zachary has himself transformed into a legendary Thunderbird. It was fantastic to see both Zachary and Kelley in the new Netflix documentary (That’s Zachary (Zeke) in the Official Trailer thumbnail!). So happy to see them following their dreams, and their lovely young family. Hopefully we’ll meet again if they are ever back in Okinawa, but until then safe flights as you serve your Queen and country. Thank you to Audra Pesicka for her great …
Denny Tamaki has been the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture since August 2018. 2018年8月から沖縄県知事に就任した玉城デニー氏。 After becoming governor, Tamaki began studying Uechi-ryu karate under Yoshimitsu Matsusaki, of the Uechi-Ryu Karate Karate-Do Kenyu-Kai. Tamaki explained he started studying karate both for its health benefits and because of its cultural significance to the Okinawa Islands, the birthplace of karate. 知事就任後、玉城氏は上地流空手道を上地流拳優会の松崎賀充先生に師事する。玉城氏は、空手の健康効果と、空手発祥の地である沖縄諸島の文化的意義の両方から空手を習い始めたと説明した。 The Uechi-Ryu Karate Karate-Do Kenyu-Kai is now led by Kiyohide Shinjo Sensei, and I have photographed many of its masters. Although Denny Tamaki is a relatively new student of karate, as the Governor of Okinawa, he is the chairman of the Okinawa Dento Karatedo Shinkokai, and is chair of the committee to inscribe Okinawan karate on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. 上地流拳優会は現在、新城清秀先生が主宰し、私は多くの師範を撮影してきた。 玉城氏は空手の門下生としては比較的新しいが、沖縄県知事として沖縄電燈空手道振興会の会長を務め、沖縄空手のユネスコ無形文化遺産登録委員会の委員長も務めている。 In December 2023, I had the opportunity to attend the end of year training for the Matsusaki dojo, and photograph Denny Tamaki for the Karate Masters Portrait Project. 2023年12月、私は松崎道場の年末稽古に参加し、空手マスターズ・ポートレート・プロジェクトのために玉城デニー氏を撮影する機会を得た。 Although it was a cold blustery day in December, Denny Tamaki and Matsusaki Sensei were happy to head down to the beach for some final training, and a few more …
One of the highlights of the year was writing and photographing an article for Tokyo Metropolitan Government with BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions. It was great to interview fascinating people, and to work with the team at BBC StoryWorks. The photography was varied, shooting both day and night images of Tokyo, and portraits using studio strobes and natural light. The little LOVOT robots were some of my cutest subjects! Looking forward to more assignments. For those outside of the UK, you can see the full article here. Images were shot with Sony A7RIV cameras using the 16-35mm and 24-105 lenses. When lighting the meeting at Tokyo Innovation Base I use the Profoto D2 strobe with an umbrella deep white L with diffuser.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 