[2024 Edition] Take photos with your smartphone! Capture emotional memories with natural fireflies this summer!

• Table of Contents
• [Only two things]
• [Go here] Where can I take photos?
• [After dinner] What time do fireflies appear?
• [The best side is XX] What is the recommended location for taking photos?
• [Guaranteed to look great] Try photographing fireflies!

[Only two things]

I'd like to say that all you need to bring is your smartphone, but in fact, you will need one more thing to take emotional photos of fireflies like a professional!

Here are two things to prepare:

① Smartphone

② A tripod to hold your smartphone

A cheap tripod to hold your smartphone is fine! The reason you need this tripod is to use the iPhone's "night mode." If you take a picture with your hands, camera shake will occur and you won't be able to use the night mode (30 seconds), so be sure to prepare one. (The smartphone tripod in the photo was purchased at 3coins for 330 yen.)

What is Night Mode?

[Go here] Where can I take photos?

Once you're ready, let's go see the emotionally shining fireflies! We went to Onogawa Onsen in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, a photogenic spot for summer 2024.

Where was it filmed?

A recommended photo spot is Hotaru Park, a famous spot for fireflies. It is located just a few minutes walk from Onogawa Onsen town.

There was even a foot bath available!

Just inside the park, there is a foot bath where you can enjoy the hot spring feeling for free. It's a good idea to come a little early and relax until dark while looking at the peaceful scenery of the Onogawa River.

The temperature of the water is around 39℃. It feels so good.

If you plan to use a foot bath, it may be a good idea to bring a towel with you.

[After dinner] What time do fireflies appear?

Recommended after 8pm

The sun sets in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. During the Firefly Festival, bamboo lights are set up. The lights come on as the sun sets, signaling that the fireflies will soon be making their appearance.

The photo was taken on July 1, 2024. On this day, the sun began to set around 7:30 p.m. and was completely dark by 8 p.m.

After 8 p.m., tourists who had finished dinner gradually began to gather from the hot spring town to watch the fireflies.

[The best side is XX] What is the recommended location for taking photos?

We recommend the area near the mountain side.

Fireflies prefer quiet, clean water areas that are not reached by street lights. They often appear in calm, clear streams with not-too-deep riverbeds that have sand or large soil particles and where there are snails to feed on.

There is a roped off area on the mountain side diagonally behind the foot bath, where I heard a lot of fireflies appear. This time, I decided to set up my tripod near the rope and take some photos. It was a cheap, low smartphone tripod, but it seemed like I could just about get the shot without it getting in the way of the grass. Will the fireflies actually appear?

[Guaranteed to look great] Try photographing fireflies!

Rules for photographing fireflies

Do not point flashlights at fireflies. Also, as fireflies are sensitive to sound, please be sure to follow the rules and etiquette below when watching or photographing them.

☑︎Do not drive with the lights on in areas where fireflies are found.

☑︎Do not turn on your car's hazard lights in areas where fireflies are found.

☑︎Do not shine a flashlight at fireflies or the surrounding area.

☑︎Do not wrap red cellophane around a flashlight.

☑︎Do not take photos of fireflies using flash devices (including cell phones).

☑ Do not collect fireflies.

☑︎Do not harm fireflies by swinging sticks, umbrellas, etc.

☑︎Do not enter any part of the affected area.

☑︎Do not throw away trash or cigarette butts in the area where the fire occurs.

[Super Easy] iPhone Camera Settings

As the sun sets and the fireflies start to appear, it's time to start taking some emotional photos!

Camera setup is easy in 3 steps:

① After launching the camera, tap the mark at the top

②Tap the night mode at the bottom

3) Mount your iPhone on a tripod and slide it until it reaches the maximum setting (30 seconds) and you're done!

The actual shooting.

After 30 seconds in night mode...

Results of taking the above steps:

Oh wow! It's a nice shot!

Thanks to the fireflies' active movements during those 30 seconds, the fireflies, which usually shine as "dots," became "movement lines" like the afterimages of a penlight. I was able to capture an emotional shot that I couldn't capture with normal camerawork, one that makes you want to post it on social media.

[Normal shooting ver.] Without night mode...

Without night mode it looks like this:

As expected, I was unable to capture the fireflies, and the results are completely different when compared to photos taken in night mode.

In order to take pictures of fireflies in maximum night mode (30 seconds), a tripod to hold your smartphone in place is essential, even if it's cheap! (If you have a tripod, it will also come in handy in other scenes, such as fireworks displays!)

This summer, a trip with hot springs and fireflies would be a good idea, with parents relaxing in the hot springs and children doing their own summer vacation research project.

[Access] Onogawa Onsen Firefly Festival

[By train or bus]

Get off at "Yonezawa Station" on the JR Yamagata Shinkansen line → Take the Yamako bus "To Shirabu/Onogawa Onsen" (about 26 minutes) → Get off at "Onogawa Onsen"

[By car]

Get off at the Yonezawa Chuo IC on the Tohoku Chuo Expressway → Continue straight along the road to Onogawa Onsen (about 20 minutes) and you will arrive there. Please park in the hotel association parking lot in the hot spring town.