Photos by Ryota Ohtake, Sota Kajihara, Yuri Saito, Tokyo Camera Club, Takumi Shimizu, Tokyo Camera Club, Ryota Kawaguchi, Keita Kawazoe (clockwise from top left)
Photos by Yuri Saito, Tokyo Camera Club, Ryota Ohtake, Takumi Shimizu, Ryota Kawaguchi, Keita Kawazoe, Tokyo Camera Club, Sota Kajihara (clockwise from top left)
Tokyo Camera Club will hold a photo contest on Instagram for foreign residents of Japan(*1) under the theme of "Anything you love about Japan."
We are one of the largest communities for photography lovers in Japan with a total of 5.2 million fans.
Photography has the power to inspire and enrich the mind, soul, and lives of people; and through this medium, we strive to deliver the charms of various areas in Japan.
We hope that these charms will be conveyed not only to people in Japan but also to people around the world—ultimately to partake in the realization of a more tolerant and peaceful world.
And in making this effort, the photos we receive from you everyday through our social media have been the foundation to our mission.
In discovering the charms of Japan, it is essential to have diverse viewpoints. In fact, many notable "landmarks" have been discovered by visitors from overseas, such as the Scramble Crossing in Shibuya.
We would love for you to participate in this effort—those who come from diverse cultural backgrounds, those who have knowledge and love for your hometowns and countries, and those who have the experience of living in Japan—to share with us the beauty of Japan that you have found with your unique perspective.
We invite you to submit any photos—such as snapshots of everyday life, travel, landscapes, portraits, culture, food, etc.—as long as they are taken in Japan.
Winners of the Contest will have their works displayed in our annual photo exhibition(*2) that will be held online this year. Winning works may be published in an official photo book of the exhibition with the photographer's credit, or in other books to support scenic spots and tourism throughout Japan, and may be sold at the exhibition site, in bookstores, and online (Details TBD)
(*1) "Foreign residents" of Japan: Please refer to "Eligibility" below for details.
(*2) Due to the impact of COVID-19, our annual exhibition will be held online this year as "Tokyo Camera Club 2021 Online Photo Exhibition" from November 3rd, 2021(Wed) through December 11th, 2021(Sat). For details, please see here.
Further information on the photo exhibition will be updated on the website above. (Japanese only)
Please refer to "Prizes" below for details on the exhibition, rewards, etc.
(Exhibition information updated on August 12th, 2021)
Please add the specified hashtag at the time of submission or within 24 hours of submission, and during the submission period of the Contest.
Due to changes in Instagram's API, even if you add the specified hashtag to a past post, if that post had been posted for more than 24 hours, the post cannot be downloaded via the Instagram API and therefore will not be eligible. Only submissions that were able to be downloaded using our system will be considered (please do not inquire as to whether or not your submission has been downloaded).
You may use any camera or device to take your photos. We look forward to seeing your wonderful photos of Japan!
*It is not our intention to increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19, and therefore welcome the submission of photos taken in the past.
*When traveling across prefectures, please act according to instructions issued by the prefecture in which you reside.
*Private accounts and posts without the specified hashtags will not be eligible for the Contest.
The Contest Period has been extended by popular request!
Be sure to include the following two hashtags in your Instagram post to apply for the Contest.
Photos taken in the past are welcome. We look forward to seeing wonderful photos of Japan you'd like to share with Japan and the world!
Theme:
Hashtags:
+
Tag your home country, or the country with which you nationally identify.
*Hashtags may be written in upper or lower case, but only half-width characters will be eligible.
*Private accounts and posts without the specified hashtags will not be eligible for the Contest.
*Please include the hashtags in your post. Posts with hashtags in the comments section will not be eligible.
*Please add the specified hashtag at the time of submission or within 24 hours of submission, and during the contest period. Posts that have been posted for more than 24 hours will not be eligible even if you add the specified hashtags later on.
*Shortlisted candidates will be requested to submit their data by a specified day for copyright verification. Please beware that we will only be contacting shortlisted candidates, and we will not be accepting inquiries as to whether a participant's submission has been selected or not.
*Photos submitted must be entirely your own. In order to check that the submitted photo is the original work of the submitter, we will be requesting the shortlisted candidates to submit RAW data or unedited original data that include EXIF data with the shooting date and equipment information. Please be sure to retain the original data of your work.
Winners of the photo contest will have their works displayed at the "Tokyo Camera Club 2021 Online Photo Exhibition."
Winning works may be published in an official photo book of the exhibition with the photographer's credit, or in other books to support scenic spots and tourism throughout Japan, and may be sold at the exhibition site, in bookstores, and online. (Details TBD)
*Information about previous Tokyo Camera Club Photo Exhibitions can be found here. (Japanese only)
*For details on this year's exhibition, please see here.
Further information on the photo exhibition will be updated on the website above. (Japanese only)
*Winning works, submitted works, and comments posted for the Contest may be shared on Tokyo Camera Club's website, related websites, related medium, and other Tokyo Camera Club social media. Please note, the work or comment may be edited for layout/length. We will notify you via e-mail when possible.
July 1st, 2021(Thurs)
through August 31st, 2021(Tues)
23:59 JST
September 13th, 2021(Mon)
23:59 JST
The Contest Period has been extended by popular request!
Winning photos will be announced at the Tokyo Camera Club 2021 Online Photo Exhibition.
For details on the exhibition, please see here.
Further information on the photo exhibition will be updated on the website above. (Japanese only)
*Photos submitted must be entirely your own. In order to check that the submitted photo is the original work of the submitter, we will be requesting the shortlisted candidates to submit RAW data or unedited original data that include EXIF data with the shooting date and equipment information. Please be sure to retain the original data of your work.
*Please be sure to follow the specified Instagram account, as shortlisted candidates will be contacted via Instagram's Direct Message from the contest's campaign account. If you do not follow the account, the campaign office will not be able to notify the candidate and/or the candidate may not notice our DM, resulting in elimination.
Tokyo Camera Club is one of the largest photo curating communities in Japan.
We operate on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Mastodon, where anyone can post photos to be shared and viewed by our total of 5.2 million fans. Those who just want to stop by and enjoy some beautiful photos are always welcome as well. Our name may say “Tokyo” but you do not have to live in Tokyo in order to be eligible.
For inquiries regarding the Contest, please contact the "Tokyo Camera Club Campaign Office." Inquiries not directed to the "Tokyo Camera Club Campaign Office" will not be accepted.
*Private accounts and posts without the specified hashtags will not be eligible for the Contest.
*Make sure to include the specified hashtags in the post. Submissions will not be accepted if the hashtags are included in the comments section.
*Make sure to add the specified hashtags at the time of submission or within 24 hours of submission and during the contest period. Posts that have been posted for more than 24 hours will not be eligible even if you add the hashtags later on.
Follow the Instagram account below:
Japan Travel Gallery Instagram account (@japantravelgallery)
Post your submission on Instagram using the specified contest hashtags within the contest period.
Shortlisted candidates will be notified in late September 2021 for the final verification process.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted via Instagram Direct Messenger.
Candidates will be requested to submit their data by a specified day for copyright verification. Please beware that we will only be contacting shortlisted candidates, and we will not be accepting inquiries as to whether a participant's submission has been selected or not.
*Photos submitted must be entirely your own. In order to check that the submitted photo is the original work of the submitter, we will be requesting the shortlisted candidates to submit RAW data or unedited original data that include EXIF data with the shooting date and equipment information. Please be sure to retain the original data of your work.
Please note, in case a shortlisted candidate's email address is unreachable, or we do not receive a reply by the specified date, we will assume that the prize has been rejected and contact the runner-up for the prize.
*Shortlisted candidates may receive emails from the following campaign office’s email addresses: and . Please be sure to change your settings in advance so that you can receive emails from these addresses.
Instructions for domain-specific reception for each cell-phone company can be found below:
- NTT docomo
- au
- SoftBank
- Y!mobile
Winning works will be announced and displayed at the "Tokyo Camera Club 2021 Online Photo Exhibition" held from November 3rd, 2021(Wed) through December 11th, 2021(Sat).
For details, please see here.
Further information on the photo exhibition will be updated on the website above. (Japanese only)
The Contest is organized by Tokyo Camera Club Corporation. The organizer and Yamato Transport Co., Ltd are responsible for the shipping of the prints. For more information about Tokyo Camera Club Corporation's Privacy Policy, click here. For more information about Yamato Transport Co., Ltd's Privacy Policy, click here.
Photos developed or edited by digital image processing are eligible.
Still-images extracted from videos are not eligible.
There is no limit to the number of posts submitted.
For inquiries regarding the Contest, please contact Tokyo Camera Club Corporation, Tokyo Camera Club Campaign Office through the inquiry form here
The schedule may be subject to change, depending on the circumstances.
It may take three business days (excluding weekends and holidays) to reply. We thank you for your patience.