Japan through the lens of the iPhone 17 Pro Max

Preface

Note: This feature was first published on 4 February 2026.

The iPhone 17 Pro series is one of the best iPhones of recent years. A big reason is its improved camera system. The new telephoto is a huge upgrade over last year’s, and the updated photo processing and rendering make photos look more natural. It’s so good that I think I’ll leave my trusty Fujifilm X100VI at home, and rely solely on an iPhone 17 Pro Max to take photos on my holiday to Japan.

Ah, Japan. I’m a big fan of road trip holidays, and there are few places better to do them in than in the Land of the Rising Sun. I could list the reasons why, but it would fill pages and possibly bust your data cap. The main reason is that it’s incredibly easy to drive there. Like us, they drive on the left, and Japanese road users must surely be one of the most polite and considerate in the world. Navigating is a cinch, too, with Google Maps.

The purpose of this trip was to explore the less popular regions of Kyushu and Chugoku, and to visit a couple of places that were on my bucket list. We begin in Kumamoto.

Kumamoto

Kumamoto is the largest city of Kumamoto prefecture and is about a 90-minute drive south of Fukuoka. Because we flew in on a red-eye flight, it makes sense to make Kumamoto the first stop, since by the time we got there, the shops and attractions would have opened. Speaking of attractions, the main ones that I’m here to see are Kumamoto Castle and Suizenji Park.

Kumamoto Castle is considered to be one of the three premier castles of Japan – the other two being Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Castle. However, it is the only one of the three that isn’t an original castle. In other words, the main keep (tenshu) is a reconstruction. The main keep was destroyed during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, and the current keep is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960. However, there’s no denying its grandeur. The castle grounds are expansive, and the main keep is imposing, mainly because of its sheer size and black exterior. Like many reconstructed castles around Japan, inside you’ll find a museum that showcases the history of the castle and the city around it.

If you are in Kumamoto, the castle is not to be missed. However, being a reconstruction, the main keep lacks the charm of its peers, Himeji and Matsumoto. Still, the grounds make for a nice walk, and it’s interesting to learn about how the castle was strategically designed to withstand attacks. One thing worth noting is that the exhibits in the castle are almost exclusively in Japanese.

Suizenji Park was built by Hosokawa Tadatoshi in the 1630s. The Hosokawa family ruled over Kumamoto for over 200 years. In the middle is a large pond that is said to be fed by spring waters from nearby Mount Aso. And to the north is Izumi Shrine, a shrine devoted to the Hosokawa family. Another highlight of the garden is an artificial hill said to be modelled after Mount Fuji.

The garden is especially scenic, and its sprawling grounds mean it isn’t crowded even if it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Kumamoto. If you are only spending a day in Kumamoto, I’d recommend coming here after heading to Kumamoto Castle in the morning.

Mount Aso

About 80 minutes from Kumamoto city is Aso Caldera, which is part of the larger Aso-Kuju National Park. This is an extremely beautiful area, and in some ways reminds me of the Fujikawaguchiko area near Mount Fuji. You’ll definitely need a car to make the most of your time here. And even then, because the area itself is so vast, and the roads are narrow and twisty and filled with elevation changes, you’ll need a couple of days if you want to hit all the main spots.

Kusasenrigahama is a large grassy plain at the top of Mount Aso and is not to be missed. There is a large car park with restaurants and a museum, which makes it the ideal starting point for a day at the top of Mount Aso. After Kusasenrigahama, make your way to the Nakadake crater, which is a 10-minute drive away. Nakadake is an active crater, so it continuously spews smoke into the air. Because it is active, the crater can be closed depending on the amount of volcanic activity, so check this website to see if it’s open. Other areas around Mount Aso that are worth visiting are Daikanbo (Great View Point), Shiroyama Scenic Overlook (the cafe serves fantastic karaage), and the Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine.

Takachiho

Takachiho Gorge. Shot with main camera at 2x.

Photo: HWZ

Takachiho Gorge. Shot with main camera at 1x.

Photo: HWZ

Having seen photos of the gorge online, I decided I’d spend a day and make the hour’s drive to Takachiho in the neighbouring Miyazaki prefecture. The gorge was very pretty, and the legends surrounding the area are fascinating, but it was also somewhat underwhelming. I think it could be because the place was filled with tour groups, and the actual gorge itself is actually not that big. Since there were available slots, I did the touristy thing and rented a rowing boat.

I’d say that only come to Takachiho if you are going to be making your way further south to Miyazaki. It’s a picturesque place, but I’m not entirely convinced that the drive is worth the trouble unless you have other places you want to visit in the area.

Hiroshima & Ōkunoshima (Rabbit Island)

From Aso, I needed to make my way nearly 500km north to Matsue in Shimane prefecture. To break the trip up, I stopped at Hiroshima. Tragically, the city is most famous for being the first-ever military target of a nuclear bomb. That incident also played a huge role in shaping Hiroshima into the city that it is today.

Unquestionably, the must-visit attraction of this city is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the surrounding areas. The museum is dedicated to the bombing of the city, and inside you’ll find accounts, photos, and various artefacts from victims and survivors that depict the horrors of the incident. Walking through the exhibits, it’s impossible to not feel a deep sense of sadness at the damage and suffering the bomb caused. After the museum, make your way north to see the iconic Atomic Bomb Dome – one of the few buildings in the city that survived the impact of the bomb.

Before heading further north to Matsue, I made a detour to Ōkunoshima, a little island in the Seto Inland Sea. Like Hiroshima, Ōkunoshima has a war history. After the First World War, facilities were built on the island to develop and manufacture chemical weapons. Though these facilities were decommissioned after the Second World War, a number of these buildings still stand today.

Ōkunoshima gets its name from these furry and friendly critters. Taken with main camera at 2x.

Photo: HWZ

The telephoto camera lets you take shots without startling animals. Taken with telephoto camera at 4x.

Photo: HWZ

But I didn’t come here to see these buildings. I came here to see rabbits. Yes, those little critters with floppy ears. The island is presently home to a large population of rabbits, which is also why it’s more commonly known by its other name, “Rabbit Island”. It is unclear how these rabbits arrive, but there must be hundreds of them. They are exceedingly friendly and will follow you and beg for food. But even if rabbits and abandoned war facilities are not your jam, the island offers breathtaking views of the Seto Inland Sea.

Matsue

Matsue lies in Shimane prefecture, which is one of the least populous prefectures in the whole of Japan. It’s about 3 hours north of Hiroshima by car, and indeed, the cities of Shimane have a very laid-back and unhurried vibe about them. Here, you will hardly see any foreign tourists. I came here to see Matsue Castle, one of just 12 castles in Japan to have the main keep in its original form, which is also to say the building is over 400 years old.

Like most castles with their original keeps still intact, you’ll have to remove your shoes to enter. In winter, it can be cold, so be sure to wear thick socks. Matsue Castle has a sizable keep and features numerous innovations in castle construction. One interesting thing about it is that it looks like it is five stories tall, but it actually has six levels inside. Additionally, it employs numerous design elements that make it especially hard to invade. If you are fascinated by Japan’s history, I can thoroughly recommend visiting Matsue Castle. It’s one of the best castles I’ve visited.

Fukuoka

My trip ended back in Fukuoka. Like the big cities of Tokyo and Osaka, Fukuoka was mad crowded. The main shopping district of Tenjin and Hakata were filled with throngs of tourists, and it was hard to move around in the malls. This was true too, even at popular tourist spots outside of Fukuoka, like the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, which is about 30km south of the centre of Fukuoka.

To escape from the crowds, I headed to Nanzoin, a Buddhist temple that is home to the world’s largest reclining bronze Buddha statue. Furthermore, I’ve heard that tour groups needed to seek permission in advance before they can visit. I reckon this would mean smaller crowds, and I was right. Nanzoin only had scattered groups of visitors, which made the visit so much more pleasant.

One of my last stops on this trip was the Ukiha Inari Shrine, which is about an hour away from Fukuoka. Inari shrines are a dime a dozen in Japan, but Ukiha is worth a visit because of how beautiful it is. Nestled in the side of a mountain, the approach to the Ukiha shrine is a long flight of stairs lined with the distinctive red torii gates that are synonymous with Inari shrines. Once you reach the top, you are rewarded with stunning views of the plains of Ukiha.

Closing thoughts

My little experiment left me feeling conflicted. I’ll explain why later, but let’s talk about what’s good about the iPhone 17 Pro Max first.

There’s no denying that shooting with the iPhone 17 Pro Max alone was extremely convenient. The X100VI is a compact camera, but it’s still something that you have to carry around. Relying only on your phone to take photos feels so liberating. Furthermore, with some light editing, it’s possible to get the photos to look good.

Another plus point is that the iPhone has multiple cameras, which lets you shoot at different focal lengths. This is extremely helpful because I found that I often shoot with the 4x camera while I’m travelling – just look at the photos here. The X100VI is a fixed lens camera that only shoots at 35mm. It may have a digital zoom function, but even then, it simply doesn’t have the flexibility of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The X100VI counters with its excellent controls and fantastic image quality. It’s so fun to turn the dials to get your shot, and the out-of-camera JPEGs are remarkably beautiful. The iPhone takes good photos, but there’s something about the photos that you get with a larger sensor that makes it look sweeter. Also, the X100VI’s various “film simulations” are so much fun to experiment with, too.

Which is why I feel conflicted. On the one hand, this experiment shows that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a supremely capable camera phone. If I didn’t have my X100VI, I’d be perfectly happy shooting with it on my travels. But it also showed me that the X100Vi is a very special camera, and a part of me feels a tinge of regret that I didn’t bring it on this trip. So where does this leave us?

If you already own an iPhone from the iPhone 17 series, there’s no need to go buy a standalone camera just so you can take photos on your travels. With a bit of practice, it’s entirely possible to take great photos with just your iPhone. But if you are already in the camera game and own a great camera, take it with you and shoot with it as much as possible. One day, you’ll look back on those photos and realise that it was all worth it.