2024.9.9 Yonglin Ke + Kunzhi Jinag + Linxi Chen The brightness (luminance) of signage lighting is key to shape the overall lighting of a city. This survey conducted in Akihabara, a globally famous district, focused on the renowned Akihabara Electric Town (Chuo-dori), analyzing the evolution of the city’s lighting composition by comparing it to the survey from 19 years ago. ■Akihabara Electric TownAkihabara is the heart of electronics in Tokyo and a globally famous hub for otaku culture. While it is bustling with tourists daily, the colors of the signs, filled with anime and game culture, are much more diverse compared to upscale commercial areas like Ginza or other shopping districts. In 2020, Chiyoda Ward released guidelines for outdoor advertising and urban development, leading to changes in Akihabara’s streetscape. This survey investigates the current night view of Akihabara Electric Town, comparing it to a survey conducted 19 years ago. (Kunzhi Jiang) ■What kind of lights shape Akihabara?The main lighting elements in Akihabara’s key districts include streetlights, signage lighting, building façade lighting, and lighting from store entrances and spillover light.Compared to the picture from 19 years ago, the most noticeable green and red lights from EDION were not illuminated due to the store’s closure. The ONODEN sign is now an LED screen, and the surrounding lighting has a more subdued feel. Previously, the area behind the bridge was completely dark, but now, with the bright lighting from a drugstore’s interior and…

When Conducting a Lighting Survey Interviewer:　Emiko Nagata Nagata： For today`s talk I proposed that we talk about what to do during a lighting survey, but this is a topic I really want to avoid. (ha, ha, ha…) Mende： What?! Nagata：Actually, for a while now I have felt very stressed out about what is expected to be gained from a lighting survey and what consists in the final report. After the several surveys that I have completed, the reaction to the final report was always very lukewarm… Mende： Hmmm?! Really?! Nagata：Especially the criticism about the pictures I took. Back then, what I thought was the purpose and relevant for a lighting survey was not what was expected from everyone else. From that point on I have questioned and thought endlessly about “what does one do when surveying light?!” Mende：Hmmm. So I bet you weren`t looking forward to the conversation today! (Ha, ha, ha!) I have always thought I was clear that the purpose of a lighting survey is not to take pretty pictures. That said, as a survey methodology, one should be able to take decent pictures. This is a bare minimum skill and forming a habit of brushing up on such skills to build one`s career is important. So, as a lighting designer, I think it is important to be able to take good pictures. Nagata：Yes, and when I go on a survey I get caught up in the formality…

Night Watching Tour：Oouchijuku Let’s go look at lights on the snow-scape! 2020.02.08- 2020.02.09　Namiko Watanabe + Noriko Higashi In search for a festival of lights in Japan, we headed to the Winter festival at Oouchijuku. Our 19 members headed north from Tokyo towards a fantastical view of snow and the lights of the old villages houses. Looking down on Oouchijuku, we were lucky it started snowing the day before, barely creating a beautiful snowscape Oouchijuku cuisine – Green Onion buckwheat noodles- where we use green onions as our chopsticks Located in South Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture, Oouchijuku prospered as a passing town on route from Nikkou to Wakamatsu in Aizu. It is a beautiful town, designated as an architectural cultural heritage, where cottages with thatched rooves still stand. Our Night-watching tour planning committee, after lots of investigation decided upon this Winter Festival in Oouchijuku. Let us find out if we were able to glimpse the view we were promised! ■Tour Cancelled⁉ The theme of this tour is “Let’s go look at lights on the snow-scape!”. Our goal for this tour was to go see the glimpse of warm light spilling out from cottages buried in the snow or as we like to think “THE Japanese Snow-scape and Cottage lighting”, but sadly this winter was an abnormally warm winter. It had not snowed even a week before the planned date for the tour. A lot of the festivals were cancelled or shrunk…

Date of Issue：April 27, 2017 ・Activity 1／Ueno Night Park: The Lighting Detectives descend upon Ueno（2017/01/28,02/03） ・Activity 2／ Night Walk Vol.56 : Sumida Aquarium （2017/02/15） ・Activity 3／54th Salon & Workshop @ Lighting Detectives Office （2017/03/16） Ueno Night Park: The Lighting Detectives descend upon Ueno 2017.01.28,02/03　　Yasuhiko Higaki + Nozomi Yoshida + Mahiro Akiyama +Noriko Higashi Over two days, January 28 and February 3, the Lighting Detectives held a workshop titled “Ueno Night Park.” Ueno is home to numerous museums and a vast park that bustles with people during the day; however, at night, the foot traffic thins out, and it can hardly be called an attractive district. To find out why, we explored the area and brainstormed ideas together with participants recruited from the general public. Ueno Night Park was launched in 2016 (Heisei 28) to create nighttime vibrancy in the area. By collaborating with various cultural facilities that are increasingly extending their evening hours, the project organizes exhibition-related events and night-themed activities. Through these “Ueno Night Park” events, we aim to establish the habit of facilities staying open late and to promote the nocturnal charms of the area—encouraging visitors to explore not just the park, but also the Ueno Station vicinity and local neighborhoods like Yanesen. (Yasuhiko Higaki) This inaugural event was structured into two parts. The first day consisted of a Lighting Detectives orientation followed by a night walk survey with participants divided into two groups. The second day focused…

Buenos Aires, aiming to become the Paris of South America, entertains a long siesta in the afternoon leading to a remarkable late nightlife. The atmosphere of these bright, flourishing streets could easily be mistaken for the middle of the afternoon. Where the air of excitement and chaos meet, this is uniquely South American. Diffused, shaded light gives the night scene along Alem Street a pleasant rhythm. The eaves extend out over the sidewalks creating an arcade that acts as a connector from the inside to the outside of buildings. Even at night, the arcades are brightly lit. Bold neon lights attract people to the game center.