Fuji Recipes - Japan Field Guide

How Recipes Work on the X-T5

Recipes are saved as custom settings in slots C1 through C7. To save a recipe: dial to an available C-slot, apply all the IQ settings from the recipe card, then go to My Menu → Edit/Save Custom Settings → save to that slot. Each slot stores the film simulation plus every IQ parameter.

Shoot JPEG+RAW on this trip. The JPEG shows the recipe result in real time — the preview on the rear screen is the finished image. The RAW preserves editing latitude for anything that needs adjustment later. See the RAW+JPEG section at the bottom for why this workflow directly addresses shooting with protanopia.

Recipe Reference — Japan Pack (All 9)

Recipe	Base	WB	Color	Key Character
Herzawg’s Portra	Classic Chrome	Auto +3R B-5	+4	Warm, punchy, strong grain
Teal Nights	Classic Chrome	K4000 R-1 B+4	+2	Cool teal split, neon-ready
Herzawg Negative	Classic Negative	Auto R+4 B-5	+4	Warm, filmic, large grain
Bright Retro	Classic Chrome	Daylight R+3 B-7	+4	Very warm, airy, sun-baked
Shadowchrome	ACROS-R	AWB R+7 B-9	0	B&W, dramatic, lifts reds
Fujipunk	Classic Negative	4000K R-9 B+4	+4	Cool/teal, clean, no grain
Portrait 400	Classic Chrome	K4350 R+2 B-2	+3	Balanced, portrait-optimized
Cherry Blossoms	Classic Chrome	Auto R+4 B+4	+2	Sakura-specific, soft
Vintage Vibes	Classic Negative	Auto R+7 B-9	-2	Faded, low-sat, heavy grain

Full Settings Reference

Herzawg’s Portra Classic Chrome · DR400 · Auto +3R B-5 · ISO NR -4 · Color +4 · Sharpness 0 · DR Priority Weak · CCB Off · CCR Strong · Clarity 0 · High ISO NR -4 · Grain Strong Small

Teal Nights Classic Chrome · DR400 · K4000 R-1 B+4 · ISO NR -4 · Color +2 · Sharpness -4 · Highlights 0 · Shadows +1 · CCB Strong · CCR Strong · Clarity -5 · Grain Weak Small

Herzawg Negative Classic Negative · DR400 · Auto R+4 B-5 · ISO NR -4 · Color +4 · Sharpness 0 · Highlights -1.5 · Shadows +1 · CCB Off · CCR Strong · Clarity -4 · Grain Strong Large

Bright Retro Classic Chrome · DR400 · Daylight R+3 B-7 · ISO NR -4 · Color +4 · Sharpness -2 · Highlights -1.5 · Shadows -1.5 · CCB Off · CCR Off · Clarity -4 · Grain Strong Large

Shadowchrome ACROS-R · DR100 · AWB R+7 B-9 · ISO NR -4 · Color 0 · Sharpness -4 · Highlights +4 · Shadows +2.5 · CCB Off · CCR Off · Clarity +3 · Grain Strong Large

Fujipunk Classic Negative · DR400 · 4000K R-9 B+4 · ISO NR -4 · Color +4 · Sharpness 0 · Highlights 0 · Shadows +1 · CCB Strong · CCR Off · Clarity 0 · Grain None

Portrait 400 Classic Chrome · DR400 · K4350 R+2 B-2 · ISO NR -4 · Color +3 · Sharpness -2 · Highlights -2 · Shadows -0.5 · CCB Off · CCR Strong · Clarity -3 · Grain Strong Large · Portrait Enhancer Medium

Cherry Blossoms Classic Chrome · DR400 · Auto R+4 B+4 · ISO NR -4 · Color +2 · Sharpness +1 · Highlights 0 · Shadows +1 · CCR Strong · CCB Weak · Clarity 0 · Grain Off

Vintage Vibes Classic Negative · DR100 · Auto R+7 B-9 · ISO NR -4 · Color -2 · Sharpness -4 · Highlights +2 · Shadows +2.5 · CCB Off · CCR Off · Clarity +3 · Grain Strong Large

C-Slot Assignments for This Trip

7 slots, 9 recipes. These 7 cover every shooting situation on the trip. Portrait 400 and Vintage Vibes are left out — Portrait 400 is portrait-optimized and less relevant for travel/architecture; Vintage Vibes overlaps with Herzawg Negative.

Slot	Recipe	Film Base	Role
C1	Herzawg’s Portra	Classic Chrome	All-day default: daytime streets, markets, temples, people
C2	Bright Retro	Classic Chrome	Outdoor architecture, bright daylight, castle grounds, wide scenes
C3	Teal Nights	Classic Chrome	Neon, night, evening city — Dotonbori, Shibuya, Golden Gai
C4	Shadowchrome	ACROS-R	B&W drama — torii gates, temple pillars, incense smoke, Kaminarimon
C5	Cherry Blossoms	Classic Chrome	Sakura — Philosopher’s Path, Shinjuku Gyoen, any blossom scene
C6	Herzawg Negative	Classic Negative	Film street — Nishiki Market, Shinsekai, Kuromon, gritty moments
C7	Fujipunk	Classic Negative	Cool blue scenes — TeamLab, Odaiba blue hour, cool urban interiors

Start every day on C1 (Herzawg’s Portra). Switch only when the scene clearly calls for a different slot.

Color Blindness — Per Recipe Notes (Protanopia)

Jeff has protanopia: the red photoreceptors are absent. Reds appear very dark, near brown or black. The red-green channel is unreliable. Blues, yellows, purples, and tonal contrast are intact.

Herzawg’s Portra (C1) Auto WB +3R shifts toward amber-warm. CCR Strong enhances the Classic Chrome red-channel rendering. The result: reds are pushed toward amber-brown before they reach the camera — the recipe makes the aesthetic choice Jeff’s eye can’t make reliably. The amber still reads correctly to him. Reliable all-day default.

Bright Retro (C2) Daylight R+3 B-7 = very warm, blue strongly pulled down. This shifts the palette toward amber/orange, which Jeff sees better than pure red. The image looks sun-baked and retro. His eye will read the warmth accurately. One of the more reliable recipes for him in color.

Teal Nights (C3) K4000 R-1 B+4, CCB Strong = pulls hard away from red toward blue/teal. This recipe lives in Jeff’s strongest color channels. The teal-orange split that defines night photography is readable to him because blue/teal is clear and the “orange” side appears as warm amber/yellow, which he can distinguish. Best night recipe for Jeff.

Shadowchrome (C4) ACROS-R. B&W — color channel issues are largely bypassed. The R in ACROS-R means the red filter is active: it BRIGHTENS reds and darkens greens in the B&W conversion. AWB R+7 further weights toward the red channel’s luminance. Areas Jeff perceives as very dark in the scene (vermilion torii, red lanterns, red lacquer) are rendered at their correct tonal weight — bright and prominent — in the photograph. This is a direct correction for his protanopia. Use at every torii gate, every red lantern. The strongest Jeff-specific advantage in the pack.

Cherry Blossoms (C5) Auto R+4 B+4 — both red and blue pushed up together. For Jeff, the B+4 is what he’ll register: cooler sky, blue-shifted shadows. The R+4 may not fully register in the scene preview but it lifts the petal tones in the JPEG output. Grain Off means the soft petal gradation is preserved. Watch the rear screen JPEG preview — if the blossoms look pale and correct, the recipe is working. Cherry blossoms are light-pink/near-white, which reads well with protanopia regardless.

Herzawg Negative (C6) Auto R+4 B-5 = warm shift, but Classic Neg’s faded character keeps overall saturation muted. Color +4 gives the recipe punch, but Classic Neg’s grain and tone curve mean color accuracy is secondary to mood. Grain Strong Large adds visual texture that makes the image about feel, not color precision. Good choice for Jeff: the warmth means reds shift toward amber but the faded quality keeps it from looking wrong.

Fujipunk (C7) 4000K R-9 B+4, CCB Strong = maximum cool shift, moved hard away from red toward blue/teal. CCR Off means no red-channel correction. This recipe is almost anti-red by design. For Jeff, Fujipunk lives entirely in his clear channels. Everything in the image will be correctly perceived. Clean look (Grain None) makes it easy to judge composition from the JPEG preview.

General rule for Jeff: If a scene is dominated by reds (torii gates, red lanterns, red lacquer, red temple gates) — use Shadowchrome (C4) for B&W, or Herzawg’s Portra (C1) / Bright Retro (C2) for color. Never use Velvia or any recipe pushing saturation on red/green scenes.

Per-Location Recipe Guide

OSAKA

Kuromon Market (Dawn / Morning) Mixed light: overnight neon still running, pre-sunrise glow, fluorescent stall lights. The atmosphere is the subject.

Recipe: Herzawg’s Portra (C1) while daylight is low. Switch to Teal Nights (C3) if strong neon is still present.
Why: Herzawg’s Portra compresses the mixed light into a warm, coherent palette. The neon doesn’t clip and shadows hold detail. If the neon is dominant, Teal Nights’ cool-teal split makes the night market feel electric rather than messy.
Jeff note: No significant red-channel traps at Kuromon. Orange neon reads clearly under either recipe.

Dotonbori (Evening — Neon Canal) High-contrast neon on the canal. Glico Running Man, crab sign, dense vertical signage. Extreme dynamic range and mixed color temperatures.

Recipe: Teal Nights (C3)
Why: The K4000 cool base and CCB Strong create the teal-orange neon split Dotonbori is famous for in photography. Classic Chrome’s highlight compression keeps the brightest neon from blowing out.
Jeff note: Dotonbori’s reds (Kani Doraku crab, red neon) read dark for Jeff. Teal Nights’ cool treatment de-emphasizes red anyway, making the image more about the blue-teal neon and the warm amber of the signs — both channels Jeff reads clearly.

Shitennoji Temple (Midday / Afternoon) Open stone courtyards, vermilion gates, pagoda. Harsh midday sun. Large open spaces handle direct light better than forested scenes.

Recipe (color): Herzawg’s Portra (C1)
Recipe (B&W): Shadowchrome (C4)
Why: Portra’s CCR Strong shifts the orange-vermilion gates toward amber. Shadowchrome’s ACROS-R lifts those same tones correctly in B&W.
Jeff note: Painted temple gates are a red-channel challenge. Both options compensate. For the main vermilion gate, Shadowchrome is the stronger choice — the B&W result will show the gate as it should look tonally, not as Jeff’s eye renders it.

Shinsekai (Afternoon / Evening) Retro Osaka neighborhood. Tsutenkaku tower, old neon, kushikatsu restaurants, vintage storefronts.

Recipe (afternoon): Herzawg Negative (C6) — the grain and warmth match the retro energy
Recipe (evening neon): Teal Nights (C3)
Why: Herzawg Negative’s Classic Neg base and Strong Large grain gives Shinsekai a period-correct, gritty quality that suits the neighborhood. As neon takes over, Teal Nights handles the mixed light.
Jeff note: Shinsekai is lower in reds than Kyoto temples. Blues, yellows, tungsten-warm signs all read clearly. Herzawg Negative’s warm faded look works without color-channel problems.

Osaka Castle Moat Walk Wide moat, stone walls, expansive sky, April cherry blossom trees along the path.

Recipe: Bright Retro (C2) for the wide architectural shot. Cherry Blossoms (C5) if blossoms are the primary subject.
Why: Bright Retro’s sun-baked warmth and R+3 B-7 shift suits the stone walls and large open sky. The scene is about tonal structure more than color. If petals are in frame, Cherry Blossoms’ R+4 B+4 lifts both the blossoms and the sky contrast.
Jeff note: Stone, water, and sky are Jeff’s strongest channels. Minimal red-channel risk.

KYOTO

Fushimi Inari Torii Gates (Early Morning) Thousands of vermilion torii gates climbing a forested mountain. Low morning light through the gates in strips. The gate tunnel is what makes Fushimi Inari distinctive — rhythm, shadow, scale.

Recipe (primary): Shadowchrome (C4)
Recipe (alternate color frames): Herzawg’s Portra (C1)
Why: Shadowchrome’s ACROS-R combined with AWB R+7 double-weights the red channel in the B&W conversion. The vermilion gates — which Jeff perceives as near-dark in the scene — will render as bright, prominent forms in the photograph. The contrast between the bright gates and the dark forest shadow is exactly what makes Fushimi Inari compelling. This is the biggest single advantage of Shadowchrome for Jeff on the entire trip.
Jeff note: Set C4 before entering the first gate. Shoot B&W aggressively here. Alternate color frames with C1 as backup.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (Early Morning) Tall bamboo on both sides of a narrow path. Vertical lines, diffuse filtered light. Almost monochromatic even to normal-vision viewers.

Recipe: Herzawg Negative (C6) for color. Shadowchrome (C4) for B&W — ACROS-R will darken the green bamboo and create dramatic contrast with the lighter path and sky.
Why: Classic Neg’s faded quality suits bamboo better than saturated color. In B&W, ACROS-R’s darkening of the green channel creates stark, dramatic bamboo stalks — unintended but effective for this scene.
Jeff note: Green-dominant scenes are more straightforward for Jeff in color. Herzawg Negative is reliable here.

Philosopher’s Path (Early-Mid Morning, April) Cherry blossom canal walk. Pink blooms over a narrow stone-lined waterway. Reflections.

Recipe: Cherry Blossoms (C5)
Why: Purpose-built for this scene. The R+4 B+4 shift and Grain Off combination preserves the soft petal gradation and keeps the canal reflections clean. A heavier recipe would compete with the blossoms.
Jeff note: Cherry blossoms are pale pink, close to white. Protanopia has minimal impact — the blossoms are desaturated enough that tonal structure carries the image. Watch the JPEG preview: if blossoms look soft and bright against a slightly cool sky, the recipe is working correctly.

Nishiki Market (Morning) Narrow covered alley market. Mixed artificial and natural light from skylights. Vivid stall displays — pickles, fish, sweets, ceramics.

Recipe: Herzawg Negative (C6)
Why: The covered alley creates complex unflattering mixed light. Classic Neg’s faded character normalizes it. The Strong Large grain gives the market a documentary quality. Color +4 keeps the stall goods visually present despite the muted base.
Jeff note: Reds in the food stalls (red peppers, pickled plums) read darker. Lean into the geometric compression of the alley and the texture of the goods — these elements are color-blind-neutral.

Gion District at Dusk Machiya townhouses, stone streets, lanterns lit from below. Very low light. Geiko and maiko areas — exercise maximum discretion, no pursuing or close photography.

Recipe (dusk with some sky): Herzawg’s Portra (C1)
Recipe (full dark, lanterns only): Teal Nights (C3)
Why: Portra’s warmth suits the lantern color at dusk while some sky remains for tonal range. Once it goes full dark, Teal Nights’ cool base creates the classic teal-amber lantern split.
Jeff note: Lantern light is warm amber — well within Jeff’s reliable range. Either recipe works. Focus on light, silhouette, and architecture rather than color precision here.

Sanjusangen-do Temple (No Interior Photography)

Recipe: Herzawg’s Portra (C1) for exterior. Camera down inside.

SHINKANSEN (Osaka to Tokyo)

Mount Fuji Window Shot Visibility not guaranteed. Window of roughly 20-30 seconds near Shin-Fuji station traveling east. At 250 km/h, the opportunity is gone before a C-slot can be dialed.

Recipe: Have Shadowchrome (C4) or Herzawg Negative (C6) pre-set before boarding. Do not attempt to set a recipe in the window.
Why: The shot is almost always backlit/side-lit, making it a silhouette scenario. Tonal contrast matters more than color. Shadowchrome gives clean B&W drama. Herzawg Negative gives a cinematic faded color version.
Seat note: Fuji is visible from the right side (north) of the train when traveling Tokyo-bound — seats A and B on the right aisle.
Jeff note: Fuji silhouette is blue-gray sky and dark mountain form. No red channel at risk. The shot is primarily about the moment and the form.

TOKYO

Asakusa / Senso-ji (Early Morning, 7-8 AM) Kaminarimon gate with giant red lantern, incense smoke in the courtyard, stone lanterns on the Nakamise approach. Fog possible in April. Low crowds before 9 AM.

Recipe (gate shot): Shadowchrome (C4)
Recipe (wider street scenes): Herzawg’s Portra (C1)
Why: The red lantern at Kaminarimon is the most prominent red object in the frame. Shadowchrome’s ACROS-R lifts it to its correct tonal weight in B&W — dramatic and prominent rather than flat and dark. Portra handles the wider street color scenes on the Nakamise approach.
Jeff note: Kaminarimon’s lantern is one of the most photographed red objects in Japan. Jeff will perceive it as dark in the scene preview in color. Switch to C4 for the gate shot. The B&W result will look as the scene actually reads tonally.

Shibuya Crossing (Dusk to Evening) World’s busiest pedestrian scramble. Best window: dusk to 9 PM. Street level (wide) or above (Starbucks window, Scramble Square observation floor).

Recipe: Teal Nights (C3)
Why: Mixed neon, LED signage, headlights, and ambient sky. Teal Nights’ K4000 B+4 CCB Strong rendering handles the color chaos by committing to a teal-warm split. The image becomes atmospheric rather than accurate, which is correct for Shibuya.
Lens note: 10-24mm or 16mm for street-level crowd motion (slow shutter, ND if needed). 70-300mm from above for compressed crowd patterns.
Jeff note: Shibuya at night is predominantly blue, white, yellow, and green neon — Jeff’s strong channels. Teal Nights leans further into those. The red pedestrian signals read dark for him but are not compositionally significant.

Shinjuku Gyoen (Cherry Blossoms — Yaezakura) Large park, mid-to-late April: yaezakura (double-petal) cherries at peak — fuller, deeper pink than Somei Yoshino. Overcast is ideal.

Recipe: Cherry Blossoms (C5)
Why: Same reasoning as Philosopher’s Path. The yaezakura are deeper pink than early-April sakura. Cherry Blossoms recipe’s R+4 B+4 lifts the petal tone and creates subtle cool-warm contrast (cool sky, warm blossoms) that frames the trees.
Jeff note: Yaezakura are deeper pink, closer to pink-red. Jeff may perceive them slightly darker than others. Use the 70-300mm to compress through blossom layers — the tonal density of the layered petals reads regardless of color. Watch the JPEG preview; if it looks right there, it is right.

Nezu Shrine (Morning) Smaller, quieter torii tunnel than Fushimi Inari. Late April: azalea garden in bloom below the shrine.

Recipe (torii tunnels): Shadowchrome (C4)
Recipe (garden/wider): Herzawg’s Portra (C1)
Why: Same torii-gate logic as Fushimi. Shadowchrome lifts the vermilion. For the azalea garden, Portra handles the varied flower colors without over-saturating.
Jeff note: Red azaleas will read dark for Jeff in color. Shoot the gate tunnels in Shadowchrome. For the garden, focus on pink and purple azaleas (these read better for protanopia) rather than close-ups of red ones.

Golden Gai / Shinjuku Night Narrow alleys, tiny bars, neon signs, silhouettes. Atmosphere over sharpness. Photography in the alleys is generally tolerated; inside bars, ask first.

Recipe: Teal Nights (C3)
Why: Teal Nights is built for this. The narrow alley neon and the cool-warm split is exactly the visual language of Golden Gai photography. Grain Weak Small keeps it clean enough to read the signs and faces without looking over-processed.
Jeff note: Golden Gai neon is mixed. Teal Nights’ blue-heavy rendering puts the image in Jeff’s reliable channels. The overall tonality and silhouette are what carry the shot anyway.

Ginza (Architecture and Streets) Wide clean boulevard, luxury storefronts, large windows, reflections. Composed and quieter than other Tokyo zones.

Recipe: Bright Retro (C2) in daylight. Herzawg’s Portra (C1) as backup if Bright Retro’s warmth feels too much.
Why: Bright Retro’s sun-baked warmth and R+3 B-7 gives Ginza’s wide streets and glass facades a polished, slightly retro quality. The Daylight WB is appropriate for outdoor shooting here.
Jeff note: Ginza is low-red by nature — storefronts trend toward white, black, gold, and blue. Jeff’s strong channels. Both recipes work without red-channel complications.

Odaiba / Unicorn Gundam (Blue Hour) 19.7-meter Gundam, bay backdrop, Rainbow Bridge. Best window: blue hour when internal lighting activates and the sky still has color.

Recipe: Teal Nights (C3)
Why: Blue hour is Teal Nights’ natural territory. The cool base and CCB Strong match the color temperature of the blue-hour sky. The Gundam’s white panels photograph well against the teal-influenced sky.
Jeff note: Blue hour is Jeff’s best light — blues, teals, and purples are his strongest channels. Shoot freely here. The Gundam’s white-and-blue color scheme is completely within his clear range.

TeamLab Planets (Interior Projections) Immersive projection rooms, water floor. Very dark ambient. High ISO required. No tripods. Photography permitted in most rooms — check each space on arrival.

Recipe: Fujipunk (C7)
Why: Fujipunk’s 4000K R-9 B+4 and CCB Strong is cool and blue-heavy — exactly the palette of TeamLab’s projection spaces. Grain None means the projection details stay sharp. The recipe’s flat contrast prevents highlight clipping on the projection surfaces.
Jeff note: TeamLab’s dominant colors are blue, cyan, and purple — all clearly visible for Jeff. The occasional red-dominant room may look different to him (darker, more muted). Work with it: the tonal rendering can still produce striking images.

Quick-Draw Decision Table

Scene	C-slot	Recipe	Why
Daytime general	C1	Herzawg’s Portra	All-purpose, warm, consistent
Outdoor bright / architecture	C2	Bright Retro	Sun-baked warmth, strong grain, retro
Night / neon / city	C3	Teal Nights	Teal-warm split, handles mixed color temps
Torii gates / red lanterns	C4	Shadowchrome	ACROS-R lifts reds in B&W for Jeff
Cherry blossoms	C5	Cherry Blossoms	Purpose-built for sakura
Markets / gritty streets	C6	Herzawg Negative	Classic Neg, filmic grain, warm character
Cool blue scenes / TeamLab	C7	Fujipunk	Anti-red, blue/teal, no grain, clean
Cloudy / overcast / rain	C6	Herzawg Negative	Flat light suits Classic Neg’s faded tone
B&W any scene	C4	Shadowchrome	Strong tonal contrast, red-correcting for Jeff

RAW+JPEG and Color Blindness

Shoot RAW+JPEG on this trip.

The JPEG shows the recipe result in real time. The rear screen preview IS the finished image interpretation. The RAW preserves editing latitude for anything that needs adjustment later. On most well-exposed frames, the JPEG will be the keeper.

For Jeff specifically: he cannot always judge color accuracy in the field by looking at the scene itself. Reds appear dark; the scene preview is unreliable for red-dominant subjects. The JPEG preview has already had the recipe applied — Classic Chrome’s amber-shift, Shadowchrome’s tonal brightening of reds, Teal Nights’ blue-heavy rendering. Jeff can judge composition, mood, and exposure from the JPEG preview with confidence because the preview reflects the intended color output, not the raw sensor data.

Practical workflow on the trip:

Set the C-slot for the scene type before arriving (not in the moment)
Shoot
Review the JPEG preview on the rear screen — this is what the image will look like
If the JPEG looks right, move on

Storage note: RAW+JPEG roughly doubles card and storage requirements. Pack adequate cards and confirm the travel drive has capacity before departing.

Recipes from Herzawg Japan Pack. Full settings for each recipe are in the Full Settings Reference section above. Apply all settings to the correct C-slot before the trip using Fujifilm X App or manually from the recipe card.

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