so im heading to kyoto and tokyo in about 5 weeks and obviously bringing the mini 3 pro. ive been reading about japans drone laws and honestly its a bit of a headache. from what i can tell you need to register the drone with the DIPS system before you go, and theres a whole thing about flying near populated areas and airports obviously. but some of the rules feel really vague when you try to actually apply them to like... a random park or a hillside outside the city.

has anyone actually flown there recently? im not trying to do anything crazy, just want some landscape shots around arashiyama and maybe some coastal stuff if we get down that way. just wondering if theres anything that tripped you up that i should know before i land there

did japan last spring with my air 2s and honestly the registration thing isnt that bad once you sit down and do it, took me maybe an hour total. the bigger thing nobody really warns you about is how strict they are around shrines and temples — arashiyama specifically, a lot of that bamboo grove area is off limits and theres usually people around so even if you technically could fly youd probably get someone telling you to stop within like 2 minutes. i found way better spots outside the main tourist zones, just had to walk a bit. the coastal areas down near ise were way more relaxed in my experience

not been to japan but worth double checking the altitude limits too, i think its 150m there but some zones its lower. also make sure your drone shows up as compliant on their system because i heard some older models have issues with the registration. probably fine with mini 3 tho