Top 10 Readers’ Photos: January

It's a happy new year with these creative shots, where urban meets nature and night means day. Roll on travel in Japan 2017.

Every month, we’re selecting our favorite travel images from readers. Tag your photo on Instagram or Twitter with #gaijinpottravel for a chance to be featured on our site.


#1 Travel writer and photographer Victor Gonzalez snapped this picture of tourists looking out over the capital from the free observation deck on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku.


#2 This storytelling statue at Meigetsuin Temple in Kamakura is a reminder to take it slow.


#3 Okinawa originals. Don’t miss the rest of @post_yaf’s creative and insightful shots of Japan’s tropical island.

A photo posted by @post_yaf on


#4 These cheeky monkeys at Arashiyama Monkey Park in Kyoto. It looks like he’s getting his back cracked by his chiropractor.

A photo posted by ?? (@linus_go) on


#5 Have you ever spotted this Astro Boy in Shibuya? When in Tokyo, always look up.


#6 We like the clever use of double exposure to create this ghostly shot at a shrine in Iida, Nagano.

A photo posted by Orrin (@nirro04) on


#7 Kawai Monster Cafe in Harajuku recreates the pink, Japanese version of Donnie Darko.

A photo posted by Joseph Bautista (@hypeintokyo) on


#8 In the future we’ll be able to drive through Mt. Fuji.

A photo posted by Hideki (@wendellsatomi) on


#9 Hard at work on the island of Miyajima, Hiroshima. Fishing villages run all along the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture which produces around two-thirds of Japan’s oysters.

A photo posted by Liza (@lizainzhil) on


#10 A nice reflective shot of Matsumoto Castle, Nagano. Nicknamed “Crow Castle” it’s one of the oldest and most historically significant castles in Japan.

A photo posted by Franzzb (@franzzb) on