In the middle of Tokyo is the Imperial Palace, a haven for runners and tourists, alike. The lighting in the palace outer garden and nearby Wadakura Fountain Park has been renewed and replaced with environmentally conscious LED fixtures. We surveyed the unique pocket of darkness that surrounds the Imperial Palace along with lighting environment of nearby parks and roads. Imperial Palace Outer Garden. The fancy pole lights in the outer garden are originally gas lamps, but the light source has been changed to high-pressure sodium lamps and now upgraded to LEDs. The average lux level is only 1-2lux along the paths lined with these LED fixtures, but inside the fixtures are 6, 26watt LED modules all pointed in different directions. This application helps to spread the light around without making a too bright, but comfortably dim atmosphere. Daikancho Street Daikancho Street runs along the north side of the palace grounds, is a much narrower street and pedestrian sidewalk compared with the rest of the facilities surrounding the palace. Along the tidy, hedged sidewalk, streetlights are placed at 3-meter intervals. Mostly for crime prevention, the lights are very bright and glaring. Ohtemachi Entrance The Ohtemachi Entrance area leads to an inner palace garden and is surrounded by a main arterial road on the outside, for a very open and accessible area. Most lighting is road lighting, mounted on 10-meter tall poles arranged down the middle of the street, but plenty bright…

Modern Kagurazaka still conveys the atmosphere of its once flourishing Edo Era streets. Old Japanese restaurants and bars line the narrow alleyways and with softly glowing lantern light and welcome signs to complete the scene, one forgets that this is Shinjuku Ward in the middle of Tokyo. In this historical neighborhood warm lantern light is all but a natural presence. Compared to the white lights of Ikebukuro and Shinjuku glowing brightly in the distance, Kagurazaka is submerged in darkness. Buildings in Kagurazaka are lower and lower color-temperature light also peaks out from the many alleyways. Kagurazaka Street, running down the center of this neighborhood, is the only really bright spot, except for the lights reflecting off the canal along Sotobori Street. A prized neighborhood for shopping and entertainment during the Edo period, the historical Kagurazaka Shopping Street is a 700 meter long living time slip. New and old shops are jumbled together along the street with specially designed, lantern-like street lights placed at intervals along the edge of the sidewalk. From Kaguraza`s main street several narrow alleyways lead to the interior of the neighborhood where the scale of lighting is downsized to human proportions. Outside restaurants on Hyogo Yokocyo, one of the more famous back streets, softly glowing lanterns light the entrance and also reflect of the cobbled street and traditional-style fence for a very old Japanese atmosphere.

2023.01.26-01.29　Masafumi Yamamoto + Yuki Ito　 Okinawa is a place where diverse cultures and histories are intertwined. In Okinawa, each region has its own unique streetscape, and this is due to the fact that each region has a completely different historical background. The following is a simplified explanation of the historical background of each area. The Naha area was severely damaged in the war and was rebuilt; the Koza area was influenced by the U.S. military base and retains a strong American culture; and the Bise and Imadomari areas retain the traditional streets of the Ryukyu Islands. By comparing the light environment of each area, this survey sought to determine what kind of lifestyle culture and light features each area has, and what kind of light is unique to Okinawa. ■Sakae-machi MarketSakae-machi Market, located in Naha City, is a shopping street that was established during the postwar reconstruction period and has remained almost unchanged since then. Today, the market is a lively place where locals gather during the daytime, but at night it transforms into a more local haunt, drinking district that is quite different from the impression it gives during the daytime. The only light at night is from the taverns and the faint fluorescent lights in the upper part of the shopping street. (Floor illumination: approx. 20 lx) The illuminance alone gives the impression of dimness, but the actual atmosphere was not as dark as the impression given by…

2022.11.4-5 Sachiko Segawa Surprisingly, this survey of the Sawara district marks the first time the Lighting Detectives have conducted an investigation within Chiba Prefecture. The team focused on an area designated both as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings and as a Landscape Formation District. Here, the townscape of merchant houses, which flourished from the Edo period thanks to river transport on the Tone River, still remains. Located about 70 km from Tokyo Station and slightly inland from the Tone River, the Sawara district of Katori City once thrived as a merchant town, to the point it was said to rival Edo itself. However, the town declined during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth. Following a townscape survey in 1974, the value of its historic scenery was reappraised. Today, leveraging its convenient location—just two hours from Tokyo and one hour by train from Narita Airport—the area is being redeveloped as a tourist destination. For this survey, the team limited their scope to the townscape along the Ono River and conducted a nightscape survey. ■Uniquely Designed Lighting Fixtures From JR Narita Line Sawara Station, as we walked toward the Ono River, we were greeted by a bollard topped with a monkey. “Why a monkey…?” we wondered, but as we continued upstream along the river, we encountered bollards adorned with all sorts of figures: rabbits, carp, children, frogs, Ebisu, and more—each one different, with no two alike. These uniquely…

2022.07.11　Hikaru Kimura + Yonglin Ke + Xueying Piao Shibuya, known as a youth hub, began redevelopment in 2012, transforming into a business district with a cluster of new office buildings and commercial facilities. While many new restaurants have emerged, traditional drinking alleys remain intact. This survey investigates the contrasting night scenes of the new and old Shibuya. ■Overlooking Nightscape of ShibuyaFrom the Shibuya Scramble Square, the rooftop of Miyashita Park stands out prominently to the east of the central railway tracks. The warm glow along the podium belongs to Shibuya Yokocho (alley). Nestled beside the pitch-black railway tracks and appearing as a dotted red line is Nonbei Yokocho. Viewed from above, Nonbei Yokocho exuded a soft, flickering light, resembling candles, in contrast to the lively and vibrant atmosphere of Shibuya Yokocho.The overall nightscape, divided by the Yamanote Line tracks, presents a striking contrast: the western side is dominated by tall buildings, densely packed with billboards and advertisements, exuding the lively energy of a traditional entertainment district. The eastern side, on the other hand, has fewer billboards and subdued signage, giving it a unified and calm appearance.I wonder if Shibuya will eventually become a more standardized urban landscape, much like its eastern side. Personally, I felt the bustling, nostalgic charm of the western side embodies the true spirit of Shibuya, and it’s something worth preserving. (Yonglin Ke) ■Shibuya YokochoRAYARD MIYASHITA PARK, a new landmark in Shibuya, features Shibuya Yokocho, a 100-meter-long…