Japan's Comiket - a place all the nerds come to

More than 500,000 people from all over the world come to Comiket for the opportunity to purchase Japanese comics, called manga.

There are 10 areas similar in size filled with dealers looking to sell their wares. It sometimes gets so crowded on the floor that it is impossible to move.

Comiket started as a way for small publishers to get noticed, and remains that way. The vast majority of the people selling items at Comiket are independent from major publishers.

If manga is not your thing, there are plenty of other items available at Comiket, including video games and music. Or perhaps a catalogue of former East German military uniforms strikes your fancy?

Some artists sell very rare items that sell out quickly. This artist sold all of his merchandise barely one hour after Comiket opened for the day.

Comiket also draws large manga and anime developers, such as ANIPLEX, to show what they have been coming up with.

Another component of Comiket is the thousands of attendees dressed up as their favorite characters who walk among the crowd. The characters can come from manga, real life, or their own creations.

Comiket draws the best cosplayers from around Japan. They can spend months working on every small detail to make certain their costume is just right.

The Akihabara district in Tokyo is the top place to purchase manga and collectibles. The district is clogged with arcades, taking over entire buildings.

Though manga and anime have long been considered as something for the nerds, they are becoming more popular, as this advertisement for a girls' baseball anime series (left) in the Shinagawa business district in Tokyo demonstrates.