Photo competitions
Photo competition "Japan in Germany"
As part of Fototage XXL, Japan Day, Japan Week and Dokomi.
The Land of the Rising Sun stands for an exciting mix of ultra-modern megacities and deep roots in cultural tradition and craftsmanship. Technology and social media are constantly bringing new trends from Japan to Germany. We have a special connection to Japanese culture through our home city of Düsseldorf, which is home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan.
With this competition, we would therefore like to invite you to go on a visual search for traces of Japanese culture, architecture and cuisine in your area and share your best photo results with us. In many German cities, there are already numerous food spots and stores selling everything from mangas to traditional handicrafts. Japanese gardens bring the Far Eastern idyll to life and the cosplay scene is growing everywhere
In Düsseldorf, for example, the "Little Tokyo" district around Immermannstraße offers you plenty of motifs. There are also two extraordinary Japan events taking place in May that offer plenty of opportunities for exciting photos: Japan Day in the city center with a big fireworks display and Dokomi, Germany's largest Japan convention. These are just a few of our top picks for photos with Japanese flair.
So surprise and impress us with your favorite place, favorite sushi or favorite character. Send us up to three of your best photos, impress our jury and, with a bit of luck, win great prizes!
We look forward to seeing your Japanese discoveries!
Closing date
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
E-mail for queries
Participation
Note: Upload problems may occur if the files are too large. This depends on various factors. Submit the pictures in a decent resolution for the jury, but try to stay under 20 MB. The photos must also be in JPG.
The prizes
1. 1st place: Sony Alpha 6700 & 16-50mm II
2. 3rd place: Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 VIIa
3rd place: 99€ voucher for a workshop at the Foto Koch Akademie
4th place: Merchandise package
4th place: Japan Day merchandise package (consisting of tote bag, "Sakura" lanyard, "Lucky Cat" mini-plush, "Lucky Cat" baseball cap, limited edition T-shirt and Japan Day sweater)
5th place: Sony WH-CH520 headphones One Piece Limited Edition
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the usual corrections are possible, but also montages. Just make sure that you do not include anything that was not taken by you. However, the use of AI is not permitted.
Unfortunately this is not possible. The pictures will be anonymized so that the jury can neutrally assess which photos are the best. Regardless of who took them or the story behind them. As the photos are anonymized, there is no point in giving them special file names.
Each participant can upload up to three photos once. If only one or two photos are uploaded, it will not be possible to upload them again. If you would still like to submit more photos (up to a maximum of three in total), please send them to us by email at fotowettbewerb@fotokoch.ro.
If you have uploaded the wrong picture or have taken a better one in the meantime, send us the new one by e-mail to fotowettbewerb@fotokoch.ro and indicate which one should be removed from the ranking.
Yes, you will receive an e-mail immediately after uploading. If you do not receive one, please check your spam folder. If it is not there either, please contact fotowettbewerb@fotokoch.ro.
If your files are too large or your internet connection is slow, you may have problems uploading them. This depends on various factors. Our recommendation is: Submit the images in a decent resolution for the jury (at least 2,500 pixels on the long side, even if less is required in the conditions of participation), but try to keep the file size under 20 MB. The photos must also be in JPG. If you still have problems, please send an email to fotowettbewerb@fotokoch.ro.
The jury consists of four to six photographers from the Foto Koch team, who all work in different genres in order to have as many different skills as possible in the selection process. The jury selects the best 20-30 images, which can then be evaluated by up to 60 people in an internal vote. The winning images are then selected from this result.
At the end of the photo competition, a jury will select the best photos. This can take one to two weeks. The winners will then be notified by e-mail. As soon as we have received feedback from everyone, the results will be published on our blog. All participants will then also be informed by email. This can take up to four weeks in total.
Conditions of participation
All pictures with motifs relating to the theme "Japan in Germany" are eligible and must have been taken by you.
Each participant can submit up to 3 pictures exclusively online on the homepage at www.fotokoch.ro/fotowettbewerb. The images must be submitted in JPG format and are not subject to any size restrictions, but should be large enough to be judged by the jury (ideally at least 1200 pixels on the long side).
Uploading very large files may take some time depending on your internet connection. When submitting the images, you must provide your full name and e-mail address.
Photo prints or digital image carriers sent by post will not be accepted and cannot be returned.
The submitted images will be checked by an independent jury upon receipt and then released for the competition.
The participant assures that he/she owns all rights to the submitted image, has the unrestricted exploitation rights to all parts of the image, that the image is free of third-party rights and that no personal rights are violated in the depiction of persons. If one or more people are recognizably depicted in the photo, the persons concerned must agree to the picture being published. Motifs depicting violence, glorifying violence, offending common decency, racist or otherwise violating applicable law will not be permitted. Participants agree to the storage of their data and the publication of their pictures. The pictures will not be passed on to third parties. The exception to this is the forwarding to the press for publication and reporting on the photo competition. Foto Koch may also show and use the participating images in any form after the photo competition, provided the photographer is named. There is no entitlement to publication.
The participant must be of legal age. The participant expressly agrees to this. Foto Koch employees and their relatives are not eligible to take part in the photo competition. Legal recourse is excluded.
Sony Alpha 6700 (ILCE-6700) + 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 II PZ OSS black
Past photo competitions
Photo contest "Lines, corners, shapes & Co." 2023
Fototage Contest "Summer, Sun, your photos" 2022
"Favorite places" 2022
"Fototage Challenge November" 2021
"Blue" 2021
"Fototage Challenge May" 2021#b-r#
"Change" 2021
"Fototage Challenge November" 2020
"Movement" 2020
"Fototage Challenge #1 - Nature" 2020#b-r#
"Fototage Challenge #2 - At Home" 2020
"Fototage Challenge #3 - Outside Your Door" 2020
"Moment" 2020
"Contrasts" 2019
"Nature" 2019
"Abstract" 2018
"Across" 2018
"Perspective" 2017
"Na dran" 2017
"POP UP! Im Rausch der Farben" 2016
"Architektur in Schwarz-Weiß" 2016
"Mein Lieblingsort in Düsseldorf" 2015
"Meine Heimat" 2014
"Actionfotografie" 2014
"Herbst-Facetten" 2013
"Ein Blick in die Landschaft!" 2013
"People in focus" 2013
"Fascination black and white" 2012
"The best animal photo" 2012
"Spring is here" 2012
"Japan on the Rhine" 2011
"Düsseldorf at the Song Contest? 2011
"My most beautiful winter picture" 2011
"My most beautiful vacation photo" 2010
