Kendama performers Zoomadanke put on over 100 kendama shows a year in Japan and around the world. Formed in 2010, Zoomadanke are "KODAMA" and "Easy". Their shows mix kendama tricks, music and dance. The kendama is a traditional wooden Japanese toy consisting of three cups, a spike, and a red ball.

The Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing works to preserve the original techniques of Japanese woodblock printing. Classic ukiyo-e from the Edo period are painstakingly recreated using original tools and methods, and sold to the public. As well as recreating old prints, the foundation commissions contemporary artists to produce new ukiyo-e designs. The foundation trains and employs young artisans to ensure the future of the art form.

Hyper Japan is the UK's largest Japanese culture event. It took place at the Earls Court exhibition space from 25 to 27 July 2014. Events included cooking demonstrations, music performances, sake tasting, martial arts shows and a cosplay parade. The event was divided into five sections: Food & Drink, Culture, HYPER Game & Anime Park, Hyper Kawaii! and Hyper Fringe Market. Many attendees came dressed as their favourite manga, anime or game characters.

Ikama Masayasu prepares a carp in a "shikibocho" Imperial Knife Ceremony at Ginza Restaurant, Asakuchi City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Ikama Masayasu is 29th head of the Kyoto Ikama school of shikibocho. Shikibocho is a Shinto ceremony in which raw fish or fowl is filleted using only a knife and chopsticks. During the ceremony which dates back to the Japanese Imperial Court of 859 the master does not touch the fish with his hands.

Kintsugi event, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, London, UK, January 24, 2014. Kintsugi literally means "joining with gold": a technique to piece together broken pottery or glass with lacquer, rice-glue and gold. The highly-skilled work is often undertaken by lacquer or maki-e artisans. Pieces repaired using the kintsugi technique can actually become more valuable then before they were broken. During the event a demonstration was given by Kyoto Maki-e craftsman Muneaki Shimode.

The exhibition "Shunga: sex and humour in Japanese art, 1600-1900" was held at the British Museum in London from 3 October 2013 to 5 January 2014. It featured sexually explicit "shunga" ukiyoe woodblock prints. The hugely-popular exhibition received 88,000 visitors, twice its target. It was curated by Timothy Clark. Despite the popularity of the UK exhibition, at the time a major shunga exhibition had yet to be held in Japan itself.

The Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Mingeikan)was founded in 1936 by Soetsu Yanagi (1889-1961). It is dedicated to promoting the Mingei folk crafts movement and showing items from all over Japan. A contemporary and friend of Bernard Leach, Yanagi believed in the high aesthetic value of everyday items made by anonymous craftsmen working in set traditions.

Members of Les Oiseaux Noirs Caberet perform in Roppongi, Zero Hour club, Tokyo, Japan, June 27, 2012. The group formed for just four performances in 2012 and mixed song, instrumental performance, pole dancing, tango and yoyo. Les Oiseaux Noirs are BLACK, Lu Nagata, Kiyoshi Ibukuro, Juan and Agatha, Philippe Aymard, Paul Lazar and Christopher Hardy.

Parkour is a modern method of physical training, also known as freerunning. It was founded in France in the 1990s. There is a small group of around 50 parkour practitioners in Tokyo

Ai Futaki is a champion free diver, model, videographer and instructor.

Parkour is a modern method of physical training, also known as freerunning. It was founded in France in the 1990s. There is a small group of around 50 parkour practitioners in Tokyo.

Parkour is a modern method of physical training, also known as freerunning. It was founded in France in the 1990s. There is a small group of around 50 parkour practitioners in Tokyo.

The 59th All Kendo Championship, Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, November 3, 2011. Contestants from all over Japan compete doing the day-long event. Kendo is a popular martial art based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship.

Taito beach is one of Japan's best-known surfing spots and popular with surfers from nearby Tokyo. Surfers of all ages crowd the beach from before dawn to late at night.

Runners at the finish line of Tokyo Marathon 2011.

Runners at the start line of Tokyo Marathon 2011.

Dewanoumi sumo stable in Ryogoku, Tokyo, is known as a center of excellence for the training of young sumo wrestlers. Training takes place in the early morning before most people living in Tokyo are awake.

Author Manami Okazaki and photographer Martin Hladik introduce their book: "Tattoo in Japan" while tattoo master Horimyo demonstrates his art.

Doglegs is a Tokyo wrestling group that includes both disabled and non-disabled wrestlers. Thera are wrestlers with handicaps such as mental disabilities, sight and hearing impairments, and cerebral palsy.

The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, western Tokyo opened in 2001. It was designed by animator Miyazaki Hayao and receives around 650,500 visitors each year.

Animator Hayao Miyazaki speaking at the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan, in Tokyo, 20 November 2008.

"Dekochari" are bicyles customized to look like the "deko-tora" ("decorated trucks") popular in Japan. The dekochari owners are normally schoolchildren too young to own driving licenses.

Manga is hugely popular in Japan. It can be read in weekly comics, in book form, or on cell phones.

Tokyo Game Show at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, October 2008.