so im heading to Japan in about 5 weeks and really want to bring my mini 3 pro. ive been reading about the rules and honestly its kind of stressing me out. from what i can tell you need to register the drone before you go and theres a bunch of no-fly zones especially around anything that looks remotely historical or populated which is basically... everywhere i want to shoot

anyone actually done this recently? like post- when they updated the aviation laws. did you bother registering before the trip or just leave the drone at home. i dont want to deal with getting it confiscated at customs or whatever but the shots i could get around Kyoto would be insane

did this last fall. you absolutely need to register, its not optional and its actually pretty straightforward through the DIPS system online. took me maybe 20 minutes. the harder part is getting flight permits for certain areas because a lot of japan is basically a no fly zone by default unless youre in a DID (densely inhabited district) cleared area

kyoto is rough. most of the temple areas and around fushimi inari etc are either restricted or you need special permission that takes weeks to process. i ended up getting some decent shots out in the countryside near arashiyama but even then i was being very careful about altitude and kept it short. bring a printed copy of your registration just in case

honestly i just left mine at home when i went. didnt want the hassle and japan has such good photography opportunities without it. probably a cop out answer but sometimes the trip is easier without worrying about all that