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Every good proposal location starts with one question: what would she love? For this one, he and I spent a while on that question together. He told me what he was hoping for, and what he knew about her taste — and slowly, the answer became clear. It had to be a Japanese garden in Kyoto.

The garden we chose is a genuinely beautiful place, but it is not somewhere you can simply walk in and start a photoshoot. Photography there requires permission in advance, so I took care of that side of things before the day. It is the kind of behind-the-scenes work most couples never see, and that is exactly how it should be.

He and I had mapped out where in the garden the proposal would happen, and on the day he kept me updated with messages the whole way through. On top of that, their friends and family were there too — several of them had reached out to me beforehand so we were all on the same page. With that many people quietly working together, everything ran beautifully.

She was completely surprised. He looked so happy and relieved that it had all come together. And the moment it was done, their friends and family came over to celebrate. I photographed the whole family together, group shots, photos with friends — everyone wanted to be part of it, and showing them the photos afterwards brought out more smiles all round.

Then I took the two of them to the spots in the garden I had scouted earlier. It was late afternoon by then, and the setting sun was turning everything gold. Some of my favourite frames of the day came from that stretch — soft light, quiet paths, and two people who had just said yes.

We talked the whole time, too. Anime, manga, and especially games — it turned out we all love games, so we ended up talking about Nintendo for far longer than I expected. It was one of those sessions where the conversation flows as easily as the shoot itself.

Both of them were warm and kind, and their friends and family were just as bright and welcoming. I had a wonderful time with all of them. Thank you for trusting me with such an important day — congratulations, and please come back to Japan soon.

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The gates of Daigoji Temple opened, and we were the first ones through. He had arrived a little early, and so had I — which meant that for a short, precious window, the temple grounds belonged to just the three of us.

That was the whole plan. Daigoji is one of Kyoto’s great temples, and on most days it fills up as the morning goes on. By being there right at opening, we gave ourselves a completely empty setting for the proposal.

As we had arranged, I walked up to them as a tourist and asked if they would mind taking my photo. She was so kind about it. She took her time, framed the shot carefully, and handed the camera back with a smile — not a hint of hurry or hesitation. When I offered to take one of the two of them in return, she agreed with a huge smile, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

Then he got down on one knee and held out the ring.

She jumped. Actually jumped — straight up, hands flying, pure joy all over her face. I have photographed a lot of proposals, and reactions like that never get old. The two of them held onto each other and celebrated right there in the empty temple grounds, and I just kept shooting. It was one of the happiest few minutes I have seen behind the camera this year.

After that, we explored more of Daigoji together. Every pose I suggested, they went for with real enthusiasm, and every spot we stopped at gave us something new. By the end we had a wonderfully varied set of photos — quiet moments, playful ones, and a lot of laughter in between. When I showed them the results, their reaction made my whole morning.

The two of them have the kind of smiles that light up a frame, and they treated me like a friend from the very first minute. Being their photographer for this was a real gift.

Congratulations, both of you. Please come back to Japan someday — I would love to see you again.

If you are dreaming up a surprise proposal at one of Kyoto’s temples, take a peek at my Kyoto packages.

Maruyama Park, then Yasaka Pagoda, then the stone steps of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, and finally the wooden houses along Gion Shirakawa. That was the route this couple and I walked together — and it all started with a proposal.

He and I had chosen a quiet corner of Maruyama Park for the moment itself. He arrived right on time, and there was not a single other person around when he asked. She had no idea it was coming. Her surprise was immediate and complete, and the happiness that followed was the kind you can see from across a garden. I kept shooting through all of it.

When it was over, I walked over to congratulate them and showed them a few of the frames on the back of the camera. Watching them look at those first photos together — still a little stunned, still smiling — is one of my favourite parts of any proposal.

From there, we started walking. It was their first time in this part of Kyoto, so everything was new to them: the pagoda rising above the rooftops, the old shopfronts along Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka, the slow climb of the stone slopes. They kept stopping to take it all in, and at one point they told me how happy they were to have photos somewhere that felt so unmistakably Japanese. That meant a lot to hear.

We did not stop there. We kept going all the way to Gion Shirakawa, where the old wooden machiya houses line the canal. It was quieter than I had expected, which gave us room to slow down and take our time. They were completely up for every idea, and the photos from that stretch are full of relaxed, genuine laughter.

What stayed with me most, though, was how they moved through these places. They were polite, careful, and clearly respectful of the neighbourhoods we were walking through — the kind of visitors Kyoto quietly hopes for. It made the whole morning feel easy and good.

Thank you both for choosing me to be part of this day, and for walking all those streets with me. Congratulations — I hope life brings you back to Japan again soon.

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There are sessions where the couple’s joy just quietly spills out beyond them. This one at Daigoji Temple was exactly that — the two of them were so warm and open that even local Japanese visitors passing by ended up joining the celebration.

He and I had planned this shoot carefully, choosing a time when we thought the temple grounds would be at their quietest. He arrived exactly on time, and on top of that, he had kept me updated in real time throughout the morning — where he was, what time they were leaving, everything. That kind of communication makes such a huge difference on the day itself. When they arrived, everything unfolded exactly the way we had planned.

The proposal itself was one of those beautiful, uncomplicated moments. She was clearly overjoyed, and he looked so relieved and happy that his plan had worked. I captured that whole exchange with a real sense of gratitude — this is the kind of moment you never take for granted as a photographer.

From there, we moved through some of the more beautiful spots inside Daigoji. Because the temple is famous, there were quite a few Japanese visitors around — not tourists in the international sense, but Japanese locals visiting the temple grounds. What was so lovely was that a handful of them noticed what had just happened and came over to congratulate them. They chatted, they smiled, they wished the couple well. Some of these little moments of warmth from complete strangers are things you cannot plan for, but they made the whole session feel extra special.

The couple themselves are honestly two of the kindest, most gentle people I have had the pleasure of photographing. Every pose I suggested, they went for with such positive energy. Every location we tried, they loved. That kind of openness makes my job feel less like work and more like spending a morning with people who happen to be brilliant in front of a camera.

Thank you both so much for choosing me for this important morning, and for the warmth you brought to it — a warmth that clearly reached everyone around you too. Congratulations. I really hope life brings you back to Japan sometime.

If you are dreaming up a proposal at one of Kyoto’s beautiful temples like Daigoji, you can pop over to my Kyoto packages.

An Early Morning Arashiyama Proposal — And a Walk Through the Old Streets After

By the time we met in Arashiyama, the morning air was already warming up. We had planned an early start on purpose — mid-July in Kyoto doesn’t leave much room for slow starts, and I wanted them to have the space almost entirely to themselves for the proposal.

He and I had worked out the plan together beforehand: he would naturally bring her to the spot we had chosen, right on time. And that’s exactly how it happened. When they arrived, everything unfolded so smoothly that even I was quietly impressed. Nothing about his approach gave anything away, and she had no idea what was about to happen.

When he asked, her surprise was complete. I could tell in an instant that she had not seen this coming at all. I kept shooting through the whole moment — the exchange, her reaction, the joy that followed. Some of my favourite frames from this year are from those first few seconds.

After we had captured the proposal itself and given them some time to just be together, I suggested we walk into the heart of Arashiyama for a change of scenery. They loved the idea. The atmosphere of central Arashiyama is completely different from where we had started — busier, full of traditional buildings, small shops, and that distinctive Arashiyama feeling in the air. We spent the rest of the hour there, capturing an entirely different mood in the same session.

They were both so wonderful throughout the whole thing. The heat was real, and I had asked them to walk quite a bit, but neither of them complained once. Every pose I suggested, they went for. Every spot we stopped at, they were up for. Their energy stayed light the whole way through, and it made every photo better.

By the end of the session, they had loved every image I showed them on the back of the camera. That’s always such a nice moment.

Thank you both so much for choosing me to photograph such an important morning, and thank you especially for walking through the summer heat without a single word of complaint. Congratulations — I really hope life brings you back to Japan sometime, and I would love to photograph you again.

If you are planning a summer proposal in Kyoto or want to catch Arashiyama before the crowds, you can browse my Kyoto packages.

A Kyoto Surprise Proposal Where the Groom Played His Part Perfectly

He walked up to me before I could walk up to them. That’s usually not how these things go — normally I’m the one approaching the couple as a tourist, camera in hand, playing my part. This time, he beat me to it. And honestly, it turned into one of the smoothest surprise proposals I’ve ever photographed.

For a surprise proposal to work, so much depends on the groom-to-be being able to act naturally. If he seems nervous, or if there’s any hint that something is off, the surprise falls apart. This one was in a different league entirely. His acting was so natural that even I, watching him from close up, would have believed everything was completely normal. That made my job so much easier — I could relax into my own part, and the two of us pulled off the whole thing together like we had been rehearsing for weeks.

When the moment came, she had absolutely no idea. Not a hint of suspicion. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he might have hired a photographer. When he actually proposed, her surprise was complete, and it turned quickly into the softest, happiest kind of tears. I photographed the whole thing with her joy filling the frame.

After the proposal itself, we spent the rest of the hour just enjoying each other’s company. Both of them were so friendly and warm that it barely felt like a photoshoot — more like the three of us were out playing together for the morning. I love photographing sessions that feel like that. The energy is different, and the photos always come out looking natural and easy.

More than anything, though, what I loved about this couple was their smiles. Both of them have these bright, warm, completely genuine smiles that just carry every photo they’re in. I ended up with so many frames of the two of them beaming at each other, and honestly, looking back through them afterwards made me happy all over again.

Thank you both so much for choosing me to be behind the camera for this important morning, and thank you especially for being such a wonderful co-conspirator, and such lovely people to spend an hour with. Congratulations — I really hope life brings you back to Japan sometime. I would love to see you both again.

If you are dreaming up a surprise proposal in Kyoto, and you’re the kind of person willing to play your part beautifully, here’s where to find my Kyoto packages.

There is one large bridge tucked inside one of the quieter, more spacious parks in Kyoto — the kind of spot that looks made for a moment like this. That is where we had planned the proposal to happen.

He and I had spent some real time picking the location together beforehand. We wanted somewhere with a bit of space, somewhere with beautiful scenery, and — more than anything — somewhere private enough that this moment could belong just to them. The bridge fit all of that. My only worry going into the morning was whether a few local walkers might pass through at the wrong moment, but as it turned out, we had the spot entirely to ourselves.

He arrived right on schedule, and everything unfolded exactly the way we had planned. She had absolutely no idea what was coming — no hint of suspicion at all — and when he actually asked, her surprise was completely genuine. She was so happy, and watching him watch her reaction was just as beautiful. Standing there with my camera up, I felt so lucky to be included in a moment that clearly meant so much to both of them.

After the proposal itself, we kept walking and shooting throughout the rest of the park. This place is such a quiet gem — full of gentle changes in scenery. We stopped near one of the ponds, then walked over to a spot with these huge, tall trees where the light came filtering through the leaves so beautifully. Later, we found a small river running through the park and took some photos there too. It was the kind of session where every ten minutes we found ourselves in a completely different landscape without ever leaving the same park.

They loved every single photo I showed them on the back of the camera, which honestly made my morning. Their energy was so warm the entire hour — I finished the session smiling.

Thank you so much for choosing me to be there for such an important moment, and for trusting the plan we had built together. Congratulations to both of you — I am really happy for you, and I hope life brings you back to Japan sometime.

If you are dreaming up a private, spacious surprise proposal spot in Kyoto, my Kyoto packages are right here.