so i did a lot of research before going, registered with the MLIT like you're supposed to, got the paperwork sorted. thought i was good. turns out there are like a million extra local rules on top of the national ones and i basically couldnt fly anywhere i actually wanted to. tried to get up near mount fuji and a guy came over immediately and was very polite but very firm that i had to put it away.

kyoto is basically a no-go zone for drones almost everywhere popular. i did manage to get some shots in a few rural spots and they were genuinely amazing but i spent more time researching than flying. just wanted to warn people that japan is not as easy as some travel vloggers make it look, they make it seem like you just show up and fly wherever

yeah japan is tough, heard this from a few people now. the MLIT registration is just the baseline and then every prefecture and municipality can layer their own stuff on top. i read somewhere that even some parks that look empty have drone bans because of noise ordinances. kinda kills the vibe when youre excited to get shots of somewhere that beautiful

honestly this is why i always email ahead now when im going somewhere specific. sounds annoying but a couple times ive actually gotten permission to fly somewhere that technically had restrictions because i asked officially and they said ok. not always but sometimes. also the rural japan shots you mentioned are prpbably way more interesting than the crowded temple stuff anyway