Düsseldorf has one of the biggest Japanese communities in the world and every year the city celebrates the Japantag (Japan Day). It is a great party with lots of Japanese activities, Kimono dressing, Ikebana, Japanese Calligraphy, music, dance… It is a really nice party full with lots of photographic opportunities.

The occasion is also used by thousands of Cosplay fans to dress up and meet. You can see they put a lot of effort in some of the costumes. This year I did not capture much of the official fest and focused more on the alternative one. I moved around photographing the ambient but after awhile I got tired of pushing people and getting pushed, as it was really packed. The day was quite cloudy, it rained from time to time, and provided a beautiful soft light. So I looked for a quiet corner, found a nice clean background (the back of one of the stands) and waited for the people to pass by. Every time I saw somebody that I wanted to photograph I politely asked if they would mind. All of them agreed except one that was in a hurry. After all it is a compliment to their work. Here is a small sample of the days loot, for more you can visit my Japantag 2013 Flickr album.