15 December 2004 The December Salon started off hot, with a post-Summer Olympic lighting survey report from Greece and pictures from the recent “City Flight Tour” over Tokyo. It was show time for the detectives as fantastic slide after slide revealed cloudless blue skies over the deep blue ocean of Santorini Island, incredible sunsets on the Mediterranean waters, and the quaint historic streets of Athens. We then moved on to pictures taken from a recent helicopter tour over Tokyo. Numerous pictures confirmed the complexity of this megalopolis, but at the same time the distance revealed the simplicity of Tokyo, so calm and peaceful from the view of the cockpit. The detectives also started a new series of reports about city lighting in Japan. This session we heard from Osaka and Nagoya, but look for other Japanese city lighting reports at future Salons. Reported News, Surveys, and Events City Walk: Tokyo Helicopter Tour…Kentaro Tanaka Athens & Santorini, Greece Lighting Survey…Saiko Tanuma Osaka City Lighting Survey…Yosuke Hiraiwa Nagoya City Lighting Survey…Ken Okamoto

15 December 2004 After a 10-minute bus ride from Shinkiba Station, the Lighting Detectives found themselves at the Asahi Helicopter Heliport ready for a fantastic 8-minute flight over Tokyo. The small, 6-passenger helicopter would take us up 700 meters over Tokyo to view the nightscape along the “Night Tour: Ginza Course”, including a sweep starting at the Tokyo Heliport～Odaiba～Rainbow Bridge～Shinbashi～Ginza and lastly Tokyo Station. At \8000 per person it was a glamorous “city walk” to remember for the Lighting Detective club members. We broke up into 3 groups to board the helicopter, each team equipped with a digital camera, video camera, or still-photo camera. We were prepared to capture the nightscape in any and all forms. The sound of spinning propellers over head greeted our arrival on the launch pad. My team climbed in, fastened seat belts, put on headphones, and then we slowly began to rise off the ground. The first view after take-off was of the Tokyo Bay and Odaiba. Numerous taillights along the Bay Shore Route formed a strip of winding light and the illuminated Rainbow Bridge support columns stood out against the black bay. After viewing Odaiba, we headed into Tokyo; we could see the newly redeveloped Sio-Site, Tokyo Tower, and the illuminated Roppongi Hill’s Mori Tower in the distance. From this viewpoint we could see the composition of lights spread across the Tokyo skyline, white office lights, orange lights along the main arterial roads, and…

6 August 2004 This month’s Salon included a variety of reports from members who traveled to places off the beaten track, globally and in our very own Tokyo, to survey, but of course lighting. The less glamorous countries and forgotten views of Tokyo help to give us, lighting designers and enthusiasts, fresh perspectives on everyday lighting and foreign lifestyles. Mumbai, Jejudo, Busan, and the Sumida River are place you might just vaguely recognize, but Lighting Detective members shared their stories and adventures of what they found and learned in these lesser-known, but equally interesting places. Reported News, Surveys, and Events City Walk: Sumida River Waterbus Tour + Asakusa…Natsuko Ueda Mumbai, India Lighting Survey…Kentaro Tanaka Korea 3 City Tour Lighting Survey…Aki Hayakawa Candle Night Summer 2004 Performance…Saiko Tanuma

29 July 2004 It was a hot July evening when the 22 Lighting Detectives gathered at Hinode Pier to board the waterbus for a 50-minute tour down the Sumida River to Asakusa. It was early in the evening, just after dusk, and the lights from Odaiba, the Rainbow Bridge, the evening sky, and the bright moon helped us all forget the humid heat of Tokyo. As the boat headed down the river, like school children, the detectives moved from left to right and from the front to the back of the boat, taking in all the lights along the riverbank. One highlight of the trip towards Asakusa, are the 12 bridges that the boat will pass under, all individually designed and illuminated. The first bridge, Kachidoki Bridge, was dyed blue at the base and had a green arch against the dark sky. The next bridge, Central Bridge, was a combination of white ceramic metal halide light illuminating the top and orange high-pressure sodium light from the bottom, creating a simple gradation pattern up and down the bridge. Next on the river, the arch of Eitai Bridge was illuminated an impressive blue, well matched with the dark backdrop. Not often found in Tokyo, but darkness along the river helped to emphasize the bridge illuminations and Tokyo nightscape. The many highway ramps and bridges running across the river formed a complex 3-D network of static and interactive light. Also, in the Tokyo…

31 May 2004 Back around the round table of the Lighting Detective Headquarters, club members gathered for another night of discussion, slideshows, and of course refreshments! This discussion included a whopping 3 overseas lighting survey reports, city walking tour pictures, and a report from club member, Musashino Art University student, Teruhiko Kubota on his recent trip to Italia. This was my first Salon, and I was surprised to see so many members with diverse backgrounds, students, lighting professionals, and others, who came together because a shared interesting in lighting to discuss, laugh, and be inspired. Reported News, Surveys, and Events Sydney, Australia Lighting Survey…Saiko Tanuma Las Vegas Light Fair Report and Survey…Ken Okamoto Messe Frankfurt Light Fair Report…Kaoru Mende Paris Lighting Survey…Kaoru Mende City Walk: Minato Mirai Subway Line…Chika Tanaka Travels: Roma, Italia Report…Teruhiko Kubota

12 May 2004 The Minato Mirai Subway Line connects Yokohama Station to Yokohama China Town five stops away. Four different architects were commissioned to individually design four of the stations on this new subway line. Although all of the stations have the same structural features, the purpose of our survey was to see how each architect, from the same starting point, reacted to design a unique station in terms of materials, color, and light. Minato Mirai St. / Kunihiko Hayakawa All the stations along the line are designed with the platform on floor B3 and the ticket wicket on B2, from there you climb to ground level, but at the Minato Mirai Station the shopping center, Queen’s Square, is on the ground floor. Using this to an advantage, the main feature of this station is strategically placed atriums, making it possible to view the shopping center 3 floors up from the platform and vice versa. The openness and air circulation from the high ceilings help to create a comfortable station atmosphere. The main colors and materials of this station are red, yellow, matte silver, and blue aluminum. The colors and materials were used to form horizontal axes throughout the station, emphasizing the speed and efficiency of the subway line. The entire station is basically illuminated in white light, but a more sunlight-beach influenced color might be more appropriate for this hot date spot, popular with the younger crowd. Bashamachi St….

28 January 2004 The Lighting Detectives have left the building, and moved this month’s Salon to the Color Kinetics Japan Showroom. Recently, most of the Lighting Detective round-table discussions have been held at the headquarters in Shibuya, but with the help of Color Kinetics, we were able to bring a group of about 30 club members to the showroom for discussion, slideshows, and CK product review. As LED lighting is becoming more and more visible, this was an excellent opportunity to see CK products in action and inspect them with our own eyes. We also had the pleasure of special guests, Satoshi Uchihara and Mayumi Watanuki, both lighting designers who designed the recently opened Tokyo Dome City LaQua. Chief Mende and other members had a lively discussion about LaQua, as this was the venue for the most recent city walk tour. Reported News, Surveys, and Events City Walk: LaQua…..Kaoru Mende Discussion: LaQua…..Kaoru Mende with Special Guests: Lighting Designers Satoshi Uchihara & Mayumi Watanuki Bunkyo Ward Shopping Center 330°View Obervation Deck Nightscape Survey…..Ken Okamoto Oita Pref. Takigi Noh Drama Performance:…..Junko Inomoto Candle Night Winter 2003 Performance…..Saiko Tanuma Italia Lighting Survey…..Yaeko Hashimoto Color Kinetics Product Demostration

20 January 2004 Tokyo Dome City’s new multi-functional complex, LaQua, was the first stop on our city walk list this year. The new complex, with spa facilities, restaurants, shops, and amusement attractions, opened in May of 2003. The theme was to build an oasis in the middle of Tokyo, somewhere to relax, refresh, and have fun. And the first impression of LaQua reflects just that, as the spectacular color from the amusement park catch your eye. Trees lining the paths are bathed in a gold light, show their bare winter limbs, and small shrubs and bushes are also covered in twinkle lights. It seems everywhere you look light is incorporated into something, creating a vibrant light environment. The lux level reading from our illuminance meter doesn’t even begin to reflect the effect the lighting has on the feeling of brightness in the park. Another feature of the park is the world’s first ever center-less ferris wheel, Big O. A roller coaster, also, jets through the middle, unceremoniously illuminated, it only adds to the powerful impression of the gigantic “ring.” The colorful and kinetic lighting on the outer portion of the ring consist of many LED units. Each unit is further broken down into 4 parts to be programmed for a more detailed assortment of lighting display. The ring, the coaster, and the Water Symphony, a water, light, and sound show, in the plaza, turns the nightscape into an, alive, 3-dimensional…