so im heading to japan for 3 weeks and obviously bringing my mini 3 pro. ive heard the rules there are pretty strict but cant find a straight answer anywhere. some sites say you need to register, some say you dont depending on weight, some say certain areas are flat out banned. anyone actually flown there recently and can tell me what the situation is like on the ground vs what the rules say on paper

also curious about flying near temples and stuff, i know some spots in kyoto are probably a no go but is it like actively enforced or more of a honor system thing

went to japan last spring with my mavic air 2 and honestly it wasnt as bad as i expected but you do need to do some homework. you have to register your drone with the DIPS system before you go, its all online and took me maybe 30 mins. the registration is tied to your drone serial number so dont forget that. and yeah the no fly zones are very real, the DIPS2 system has a map you can check and a lot of the popular tourist areas are inside controlled airspace. i tried to fly near mount fuji and most of the good viewpoints were restricted, ended up finding a spot about 2km out that was fine

kyoto temples are mostly no fly and people do get stopped. saw a guy get approached by a park attendant within like 2 minutes of launching near fushimi inari. just not worth the hassle tbh

the rules changed again fairly recently i think so double check anything older than like a year. i remember reading something about them tightening rules around populated areas but im not 100% sure how that affects tourists specifically