October 18, 2026

2023 Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Leica SL2s

Camera

This is photographer Daran's second series from traveling in Japan, with the Leica SL2s as the main travel and street companion. The people and things encountered along the way, and the casual light and shadow, all became interesting creative elements in Daran's eyes — so let's wander Japan with Daran!

By Daran Wu

For this Japan trip I set myself two shooting assignments: a medium format X1D II + XCD 45mm F3.5 kit, shot entirely in XPan panoramic mode (Japan Travels in XPan: Hasselblad X1D II); and a Leica SL2s + SL 50mm F2 APO plus Panasonic Lumix 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 combo for travel documentation.

.

Every time I look through the Leica SL2s viewfinder, that detailed, rich EVF makes me smile defenselessly. My kids ask why Papa always smiles when taking photos — kids, you're still young; you don't understand this soulful bond of photography, a chain of emotion from eyes to fingers to heart. Even just passing another photographer on the street, you can feel that small joy of their backward glance~

Leica files run a touch more saturated at baseline, and with the APO lens's help, sharpness and shadow detail clearly stay at a top-tier level (the Lumix 20-60 is decent, above average — but the gap to the APO is real), so the overall rendering is a bit more intense. This time I also mixed a new tone profile for the SL2s — exactly the Leica of my mind's eye.

Further reading:
Japan Travels in XPan: Hasselblad X1D II
Leica SL2 + APO SL 50mm F2: First Impressions
Leica's Perfectionism | APO-Summicron-SL 50 f/2 ASPH
Toronto Street Photography | Leica SL2s
Toronto Street Photography | ZEISS C Biogon T* 21mm f/4.5 ZM

.

Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Airport control tower and terminal building seen past a railing and an elevated roadway
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Travelers waiting on yellow seats in an airport departure hall with glass curtain walls and steel framing
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | An ANA aircraft and jet bridge on the apron seen through the airport terminal's glass wall
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A Hello Kitty HARUKA train stopped at the platform, lettering on its side and seats visible through the windows
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Farmland, low houses and a distant town seen from a train window under a blue sky with clouds
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Passengers waiting on platform benches with a JR train stopped behind the fence
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A black taxi crossing an intersection in front of a lit station building and shops
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A red light at an intersection beneath a station viaduct as a taxi approaches and pedestrians cross the zebra crossing
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Night traffic passing a pachinko parlor with glowing neon signs while pedestrians walk under the arcade
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A man carrying a child on his shoulders under the Kawaramachi shopping arcade as backpacked pedestrians pass by
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A restaurant front hung with Japanese lanterns, bottles and guests' silhouettes visible through its windows
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Looking up at a utility pole and tangled wires between rooftops and walls in a residential alley
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A quiet residential alley flanked by a white wall on the right and green trees on the left
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A woman in a hat and black coat walking a small dog and carrying a red bag, travelers with suitcases behind her
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Inside a bus, passengers seated on both sides beneath orange grab rails and hanging straps
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Kyoto Tower under a blue sky with clouds, its white shaft and orange observation deck seen beneath a shadowed eave
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Masked crowds moving past escalators and direction signs inside a station
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A calligraphic KYOTO STATION sign on a station wall with a backpacker standing to the left
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Passengers queuing under a shelter in front of the station beside a bus stop sign
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | People beside a station escalator with a five-story pagoda silhouette on the partition, a person in a red cap looking down at something in their hands
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Two backpacked travelers from behind, pulling a blue suitcase while reading a station information board
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A street beneath the Kyoto Station Building west parking entrance bridge, with a white car and pedestrians passing
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Looking up at a platform's metal canopy and steel frame with a hanging train information display
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Two pedestrians walking past a shelter on the opposite platform beneath elevated tracks and catenary wires
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A masked man holding the hand of a boy in a red jacket on a platform among waiting passengers, a train on the tracks
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A train stopped with open doors as a woman with a red suitcase and a man with a backpack wait at the doorway
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Masked passengers waiting beside a pillar on platform 5 as sunlight slants across the platform
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Passengers waiting under a shelter on the opposite platform and a staff member standing mid-platform, a train roof above
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A masked boy gazing at a train window with his reflection in the glass
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Crowds crossing the plaza of Osaka Station City between the station and shopping buildings
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A city avenue at dusk, office buildings and red-awning shops on the left and a row of bare winter trees on the right
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A city skyline of high-rise apartment buildings and rooftop silhouettes under a gradient dusk sky
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Palm trees and crowds along Hollywood Boulevard at Universal Studios, a roller coaster track in the distance
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Three visitors in matching Supreme hooded down jackets walking away through crowds on a park street
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Crowds walking toward the camera on Hollywood Boulevard at Universal Studios, colorful banners and palm trees along the street
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Three young visitors walking toward the camera on a park street, one wearing a yellow cartoon hat, a visitor in a wheelchair passing by
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A theater building topped by a large ILLUMINATION sign, a SING character billboard above its entrance
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A mother pushing a stroller with two children across a cobbled park street past wooden old-house facades and other visitors
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A CARNIVAL GAME booth with its red curtain drawn, a staff member in a Santa hat sweeping nearby, a roller coaster track behind
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Three Minion figures on the roof of the MINION CART stand under a blue sky, a roller coaster track behind
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | The red polka-dot HAPPINESS CAFE building and a giant cola bottle sculpture, visitors walking at its entrance
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A child in a green Luigi hat standing by a waste-paper bin on a park street, a masked girl seated at outdoor cafe tables nearby
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A woman sipping a drink in front of European apartment facades in the park, silhouetted visitors in the foreground
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | The red three-dimensional sign of SNOOPY'S BACKLOT CAFE under a blue sky, a chef Snoopy figure standing on top
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A carousel and a giant Elmo face in the Sesame Street area, crowds gathered before rainbow bubble decorations
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Looking through a red archway toward a pink Hello Kitty patterned wall, visitors with a stroller passing outside
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | The pink Hello Kitty Ribbon Collection building with a giant red bow and Kitty artwork on its white wall, visitors walking past
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A masked man holding a camera standing before a pink building on a park plaza as visitors pass by
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A girl on a small stool by a red railing holding up her phone to take a photo, a red polka-dot backpack on her back, green trees behind the railing
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | White Snoopy-shaped ride cabins with visitors seated inside, the SNOOPY STUDIOS sign and blue sky behind
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Crowds walking toward the camera on a wooden old-town street in the park, modern high-rises far behind the utility poles and old houses
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A family resting on a bench before a stone wall, children wearing Mario and Yoshi hats, a stroller beside them
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | The eaves and a small protruding balcony of a wooden building against a blue sky with large white clouds
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Two snowman characters in top hats and a drumming Hello Kitty in a parade, spectators' backs in the foreground
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Dusk crowds on the shopping street outside Universal Studios, the UNIVERSAL STUDIO STORE sign and neon on the right and a lit hotel tower on the left
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Osaka Castle's towering stone wall and white turret beside the moat, autumn shrubs and weeping branches in the foreground
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | A castle gate and white wall atop Osaka Castle's stone rampart, visitors walking at the gate, vines on the wall and birds in an overcast sky
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Looking through Osaka Castle's dark wooden gate toward the main keep in the distance, white walls and green trees beneath an overcast sky
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Osaka Castle's main keep with white walls and a green-tiled, gold-trimmed roof atop its stone base, bare winter trees and visitors in the foreground
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Rows of autumn trees lining a plaza in Osaka Castle Park, visitors strolling and resting along the path, city buildings behind the trees
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Osaka Castle's main keep seen through bare winter branches under a blue sky, visitors resting and chatting by benches on the plaza
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | The towering corner of Osaka Castle's moat-side stone wall curving away, tree shadows on the stonework under a cloudy sky
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Osaka Castle's dry moat flanked by towering stone walls, a construction crane and city buildings in the distance under a cloudy sky
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Osaka Castle's white wall and tiled eaves under a blue sky, bare winter branches crisscrossing in the foreground
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Sennichimae shopping street in Osaka, the 123 pachinko parlor and JUGGLER KINGDOM signs on the left as pedestrians walk toward the arcade
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Profile of a masked station staff member holding a red flag and radio handset on a platform, tracks and the opposite platform behind
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | An empty JR station platform, long pillar shadows stretching beneath the platform 1 and 2 signs, mountains in the distance
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Passengers waiting before a station concourse's floor-to-ceiling glass, a man gazing out while others sit on a bench, city buildings beyond
Kyoto-Osaka Journey | Looking through an airplane window at the apron at dusk, a Peach aircraft beside the wing while ground crew load baggage carts

Share this story

RELATED POSTS

Old and New Fused | Hasselblad 907X 50C II

The Last Shard of Soul in a Man’s Heart | Hasselblad X1D II-50C

Standing Quietly, a World First: Zeiss ZX-1 Unboxing Review