I went around the world, and something so wonderful as Japan I really have not seen, nor experienced. It is something absolutely incredible. A special country with special people, and from the moment you get there you feel a different energy, hospitality, and a culture that is truly fascinating. A photographer’s dream is to be a part of such a vibrant environment where you don’t know where to turn first, to point camera and take a picture.

This was the first time that Red Bull X-Fighters was held in Japan – The Land of the Rising Sun. Although I photographed a lot of the previous stops over the past years of this competition, I would separate this one in Japan as the best Red Bull X-Fighters so far because of the atmosphere, because of the environment, but in the first place because of the people.
Japan is an ancient country with a rich history and culture that became the third strongest economic power in the world due to a specific mentality, discipline and hard working people. We were in Osaka, which is the commercial center of Japan.

As soon as I arrived I was completely fascinated by how it all looks and works. In the first place I would mention the communication with people and their kindness which is totally amazing. Their hospitality is hard to describe to someone who never had been there. It is a fantastic feeling when the environment in which you photograph is the Osaka castle and the kind of environment we had. It was very inspiring.

The opening of the event was very special because of the large number of samurai who introduced the Japanese culture and way of life in a proper way. The riders were riding with so much energy so the event itself was truly spectacular, and with so much details. The track on which the riders competed was unique, different from the design of all the others and it was very challenging to find a place to take pictures from in order to get something really special, but I think we succeeded in the end. From hundreds of photos that I made I really had a problem to make the best of.

People say that your travel to Japan doesn’t count if you haven’t been to the sushi restaurant. Although we briefly stayed in Osaka, we managed to visit several sushi restaurants, and we were delighted with how it looks and how the locals are preparing the food. As sushi lovers who do not have the opportunity to see all that very often, we have enjoyed very much. This whole event had left such a strong impression on me that I will definitely come back to Japan with a camera and spend more time making pictures.