One of the most impressive annual firework displays in the world is set to take place in Tokyo towards the end of the month.
This year's Hanabi Taikai will explode into existence on July 28th and some 20,000 individual rockets are expected to illuminate the night sky.
In all, around 900,000 spectators will gather at Asakusa's Sumida Park to enjoy the spectacle.
Unlike firework displays elsewhere in the world, the Hanabi Taikai is a competition between rival pyrotechnic crews.
Each team endeavours to produce the most impressive display, with the result that some of the coordinated explosions are incredibly intricate and complex.
In the past, teams have produced complex shapes from their exploding fireworks - including the manga characters Doraemon and Pikachu, and the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese writing.
Aside from the firework display, Tokyo is a popular tourist destination with many shops, shrines and art galleries to interest holidaymakers.
The Lonely Planet has this to say about the vast city: "Tokyo is a place where the urgent rhythms of consumer culture collide with the quieter moments that linger from older traditions."
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