planning a trip to japan in spring and ive been going back and forth on whether to even bother packing the drone. from what ive read the rules there are pretty strict and you basically need permits for almost everything, cities are largely no-fly, and a lot of the scenic spots like fuji and the temples are either restricted or have their own rules on top of the national ones.

feels like id be carrying extra weight for nothing. but then i see footage people have gotten there and its stunning so clearly some people are managing it. do they just get permits ahead of time or is there some trick im missing

its definitely doable but you have to put in the work before you go. i went last november and got two permits approved through the MLIT online system for rural areas in hokkaido and it was actually fine once i figured out the portal, which took a while cause parts of it are in japanese obviously. the cities are basically a no-go without serious paperwork and connections so i just didnt bother with tokyo at all. the countryside though? completely worth it, i got fog shots over rice fields that are genuinely the best thing ive ever captured.

id say bring it but go in with realistic expectations. dont plan your whole itinerary around flying because a lot of spots will just be off the table

im actually curious about this too, following. i heard some people just use airmap and wing it depending on where they are but that seems risky given how seriously japan takes this stuff. fines are apparently not small