Japan Expo 2002

Held during the Thanksgiving weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Japan Expo is the annual place to pick up on the cultural aspects of Japan. Inside Japan Expo, one can usually find many booths dedicated to health products (the Japanese are health nuts), Japanese cultural items (such as clothes), modern Japanese products, Japanese food (it had been a long time since I last enjoyed fresh, hot taiyaki (fish-shaped pastry filled with red bean paste), and many other interesting booths.

Of unusual note this year was the larger number of companies dedicated to promoting japanese entertainment, such as anime and manga (it appears that anime has become an unusually popular import from Japan :P).

This year marked a significant influx of cosplayers to the convention (an oddity, considering that this is/was mainly a cultural convention, mainly attended by Japanese-American families, probably in a fit of nostalgia or such). It also marked the first time that an actual cosplay event was held during the Expo.

These are just a sampling of the shots taken during Japan Expo. Enjoy.

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