Rich in local history and cultural facilities, Ueno Park covers a large area in the middle of Tokyo. Even though located in an urban setting, we anticipated a lighting environment completely different than the lights of downtown. Between th…

Shimokitazawa is a neighborhood of small shopping streets and alleyways, projecting a strange, but comfortable atmosphere, as people crowd the backstreets until late in the night. However, plans to replace this quaint neighborhood with arte…

In front of the main gate to Senso-ji Shrine lies the neighborhood of Asakusa. One of Tokyo’s most popular entertainment districts, Asakusa flourished with kabuki, opera, and comic storytelling from the Meiji Era to the end of WWII. The Lig…

Taking a drive along the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway is a great experience in the sequence of Tokyo light. In one drive you can catch glimpses of Tokyo Tower in between buildings, awe at the endless Ginza neon signage, and hide in the dar…

Roppongi has many faces including, an entertainment district with a foreign twist, new offices for daily business, and is developing as a center for the Tokyo art scene. The Lighting Detectives sped around on their bikes in April to discove…

A city for the young and young at heart, Shibuya. The area is composed of a mess of streets all with a different atmosphere, including a few main streets connected by narrower alleyways. Each street has developed its own personality and rol…

The Marunouchi district in the center of Tokyo has been transformed in recent years from a business and financial center to the latest redevelopment to intertwine commercial and office space. Our survey started in Marunouchi, as we closed i…

From up above Tokyo looks like an overturn jewelry box, the night streets glitter with lights and it a fairly beautiful sight. Once back on ground, the glitter has turned harsh. It is an economically advanced nightscape, an efficient nights…

It was 8:15 on the morning of August 6, 1945 when the first of two bombs dropped on Hiroshima then Nagasaki. Sixty-one years have passed since this memorable day and every year victims are remembered in a peace memorial ceremony attended by…

In the heart of Tokyo, Nihonbashi River lies hidden under a system of highway overpasses and the Sumida River is wide and commanding and it cuts through the city. With a variety of bridges, both rivers assert their own unique presence in th…

Kyoto is an ancient city of Japan that was planned based on feng shui, or Chinese divination. Although the streets of Kyoto are a typical gridiron pattern, unique spatial conditions derived from the machiya, or Japanese style townhouses, ar…

Kobe, very similar to the port town of Yokohama, is full of great spaces for pedestrians, including, the main strip, Flower Road, many arcades, underground passages, and the Kobe Meriken Park. While most of the lights in this area are white…

Compared to many cities, Yokohama is a relatively open city. Even with large high-raise buildings close-by you don’t feel enclosed and the added factor of a waterfront can help make anyone feel refreshed. The continually changing point of v…

Nagasaki is said to be a melting pot of cultures and people, this also describes its city lighting plan. The city is rainbow colored, with streetlights illuminating white light one moment, orange the next, and green the next from all differ…

While the streetscape and lighting environment are very individualistic, an overall unity exists throughout Fukuoka. Throughout the city, a skilled balance between lighting for public and private areas is implemented. The lighting in the un…