Will Robb Photography

When I’m on an assignment for my agency or a job for a newspaper or magazine, I’m always drawn to the unexpected.
Recently I went to Tsukiji Honganji Noryo Bon Odori Taikai (folk dancing meeting) at Tsukiji Honganji Temple, in the Tsukiji area of Tokyo’s Chuo ward. At around 7pm as the sun began to set on another humid Tokyo summer day, the ever present buzz of the cicadas was joined by the beat of the taiko drum as the festival began to kick off. In no time a fairly empty space in front of the temple where drummers had set up was crowded with people of all ages, some in kimonos, some salarymen in their suits who snuck out of their offices early with their colleagues for a quick beer and the opportunity to let off some steam, kids in anime character masks and even a few foreign tourists who had stumbled upon another hidden Tokyo gem.
I’d already got the shots I needed, the lanterns hanging over the dance area, the drummers, the dancers, lots of good stock images and I’m thinking I could pack my gear and go home when a woman walks in front of me wearing a dog mask. It’s one of these oddities you don’t expect, they are always the ones that make the day and end up being the best photo you get and another uniquely Japanese experience.The woman in the