so im heading to tokyo and kyoto in about 5 weeks and obviously bringing the mini 3 pro. ive been doing a ton of reading on japans drone laws and honestly its kind of overwhelming. from what i can tell you need to register the drone before you go and get some kind of permission for certain areas but ive seen conflicting info about whether tourists can even do that remotely or if you have to be in japan to register. anyone actually done this recently?

also heard shibuya and most of tokyo center is basically a no fly zone which sucks but i was mostly hoping to get shots around the countryside and maybe arashiyama in kyoto. not sure if temples count as restricted or not

did this last year. registration you can do online through the DIPS system before you leave, it took me maybe an hour to figure out because the english translation is rough but it works. just google japan drone registration DIPS and youll find guides. most of kyoto including arashiyama is tricky though, a lot of it falls under populated area rules and you technically need extra permits to fly over people which as a tourist is basically impossible to get in time

i ended up driving out toward the coast and found some insane spots with zero crowds. honestly better footage than anything id have gotten at the tourist spots anyway

dont quote me on this but i think temples specifically might have their own rules on top of the government ones? like private property thing. i saw someone get told off by a groundskeeper at a shrine in nara when they were setting up, wasnt even flying yet just unboxing it