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Traveling From Home: We Recreated Famous Japanese Landscapes in Miniature

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Traveling From Home: We Recreated Famous Japanese Landscapes in Miniature

 

 
 
Temporarily unable to travel Japan, I decided that I was going to bring some of Japan into my own house! Inspired by the many miniature artists that share their work on social media, I started a little project: I picked three iconic views of Japan and recreated them in miniature using whatever I could find in my house and the nearby grocery store. I had a lot of fun doing it, and I hope you enjoy it as well.
 

1. The Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto

The seemingly endless vermillion gates of this Shinto Shrine are one of the many must-see destinations in Japan. This path is an actual hiking trail that leads to the top of the sacred Mount Inari. I thought it would be fun to try and recreate not only the structure, but also the atmosphere of this place.
 
Recreating the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in miniature: materials

The materials I used for this picture are simple. To recreate the torii gates I chose to paint some toothpicks. Ground pepper proved great as the gravel at the foot of the gates. For the central path, I simply printed a light stony pattern on a piece of paper and drew some lines on it with a pencil. 
 
Recreating the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in miniature: painting the toothpicks

First I needed to give the toothpicks a makeover.
 
Recreating the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in miniature: miniature people

Gluing and placing the gates was definitely the longest part. When they were finally in place I added some miniature people for a final touch...
 
Recreating the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in miniature: taking the shot
 
Recreating the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in miniature

Here it is! Miniature toothpick torii gates! Do they look endless?
 
Recreating the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in miniature 2

I had fun using different miniatures. So many tourists!
 
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine ■More info about the Fushimi Inari Shrine on DiGJAPAN!
◇Let's Go! A Walk-Through Guide to the Fushimi Inari Shrine
Where to Go on Your First Day in Kyoto
    
 

Information

Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine | 伏見稲荷大社
Address: 68 Fukakusa Yabunouchi-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto (MAP)
Access: just outside of Inari Station (JR Nara Line)
Website: http://inari.jp/en/
 

2. The Wedded Rocks of Ise

Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks)

For the next miniature view I chose a sunrise over the Meoto Iwa (wedded rocks) of Ise. These sacred rocks stand in the ocean near the Futami-Okitama Shrine in Ise City. The rocks are bound by a ceremonial rope called shimenawa.
This landscape definitely has more elements than the first one and I thought it would be fun to figure out what kind of things I could use!
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature: materials

The shot ended up having a coffee theme: I used coffee jelly for the ocean and instant coffee for the mountains in the background. For the two rocks I found white rock sugar to be just perfect. Basting thread was a good candidate for the  rope and I printed an orange-to-purple background for the sunrise sky. I also wanted to make a version with some shore and people in it, using brown sugar.
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature: work in progress

First I chose the best sugar pieces for the rocks and set them in place. Tying the tiny rope took some trial and error, but I got something close enough in the end.
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature: using coffee jelly for the sea

The coffee jelly worked great. It was compact enough to stay where I placed it and gave me a really nice ocean wave effect.
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature: taking the shot
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature

And here's my tiny sunrise over the wedded sugars!
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature 2

I also tried a shot with a group of photographers on the shore, intent in capturing the scene.
 

Information

Meoto Iwa | 夫婦岩
Address: 575 Futamichoe, Ise-shi, Mie (MAP)
Access: 15 min. walk from JR Futaminoura Station
Website (Japanese-only): https://futamiokitamajinja.org/
 

3. A View of Mt. Fuji From Lake Kawaguchi

Mt. Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi with autumn leaves

For the last shot I felt like I couldn't leave out Japan's favorite volcano. So after poring over many beautiful views of Mt. Fuji I settled for one of lake Kawaguchi during the Fuji Kawaguchiko Autumn Leaves Festival. This particular one also has boats with people in the water.
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature: the materials

This time I decided to take a different approach to the water. It's very still with a grey hue to it, so I opted for some crumpled baking paper. Pea pods looked perfect for the boats in which I put my tiny people. For Mt. Fuji, after 45 minutes of scouting my local supermarket, I settled on a triangular fluffy bread. The plan was to cover it in anko (sweet red bean paste) and sift some confectioner's sugar on the top for the snow. I also used the anko for the shore, adding some crushed almonds for the buildings. Finally, for the autumn leaves I decided to try using parsley.
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature: painting parsley

After painting the parsley in red and yellow I had to find the perfect position.
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature: setting up

The miniature boats came out very cute. I added some cotton for the clouds around Mt. Fuji.
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature: taking the shot
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature

Here's the finished result! This one was tricky but I like how it turned out. And I got to eat Mt. Fuji after the shot.
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature 2

I tried a variation with just the mountain.
 
Kawaguchiko ■More info about Lake Kawaguchi on DiGJAPAN!
◇Iconic Views of Mount Fuji: Fuji Kawaguchiko Autumn Leaves Festival   
 

Information

Momiji Tunnel | もみじトンネル
Address: Oishi, Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi (MAP)
Access: take the Kawaguchiko line Retro Bus to the Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center stop (bus stop no. 22) 
 


This was a very fun project! Having to recreate a location made me pay attention to little details that would normally go unnoticed. Aside from being fun, taking these pictures made me appreciate the beauty of these locations even more. I hope I get to recreate other ones in the future!
 

Recreating the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in miniature
 
Recreating the Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) in miniature
 
Recreating a view of Mt. Fuji in miniature

*The above article is based on information from April 2020.

About the Author
Laura is an Italian living and working in Tokyo. She loves exploring hidden and unknown places, taking pictures and listening to Punk Rock music. When she’s not busy doing the above, she might enjoy a craft beer or play the sanshin (an Okinawan instrument similar to a shamisen).


 

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THIS ARTICLE IS BASED ON INFORMATION FROM 05 13,2020 Author:DiGJAPAN! Editorial Team

 

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