Bangkok, a city in a swirl of on-going change. In our previous survey of Tokyo’s Kanda River, we discover that the backs of buildings face the river creating and area of dark contrast in the middle of the city. But here along the Chaopraya River the opposite is true with the front facades lining the waterfront. Open-air restaurants and bars occupy the rooftops, as the spectacle of the city spreads out below. The Millennium Hilton, Bangkok, opened in May of 2006, is the first major hotel brand to open a hotel in the country in 20 years. The hotel boasts 543 riverfront rooms. With a UFO-like disk on top of the building, the cool-modern design stands tall among the neighboring structures. Along the riverfront, a private pier is provided for guests and dinners at the restaurant and bar. As river taxis come and go, the warm spots of light along the river reflect and shimmer on the water surface. Scirocco, one of many open-air restaurants, is approximately the same height as the special observation room at Tokyo Tower, 246 meters above ground, but without the glass barrier!. Without a glass window the lights of the city below seems so much more clear and real!! At the next table sat an older coupe that came to watch the sunset. The woman was surprised when presented with a big bouquet of flowers, undoubtedly a romantic gesture from her husband. A single candle…

The Television Broadcasting Tower looks down on the orange sodium lamps overflowing from the grid patterned streets of Sapporo. While on assignment in December we were able to view the multi-colored White Illumination set up along Ohdori Park and Sappore Eki Mae Street. Looking towards Ohdori Promenade from the JR Tower. Sapporo is a beautiful city at twilight with orange light from the streets to set off the blue-tinted snow-topped roofs. The tree-lined street, Sapporo Ekimae Avenue is a sight to see with its unique style of looping lights over tree branches. Visitors with cameras and mobile phones converge on the decorated Ohdori Promenade. Sapporo Television Tower, similar to Tokyo Tower and Nagoya Tower, and all designed by the same architect, is also illuminated with the same type of sodium lamp.

Shiodome Sio-Site was a joint public and private sector redevelopment project completed in 2006. In nearby Shinbashi, eateries and bars built under and into the brick structure of the elevated railway tracks during the Meiji era have become a famous cityscape of this area. We set out to discover what kind of lighting environment exists in this conflicting neighborhood of Tokyo. Red lanterns, single light bulbs hanging under the eaves, colorful luminous signage…All the lighting is warm and inviting. The lighting environment along the streets of Shinbashi is wide and varied, but somehow closes the distance between strangers. Lighting for an elevated pedestrian deck connecting high-rise buildings in the area. The warm colored lighting creates a comfortable atmosphere for a nighttime stroll. The Shiodome high-rise buildings are not showy, and along with the interior office lighting, only a few have facade lighting on the building crowns.

Tokyo Survey: Tsukuda / Tsukishima 2019.11.18　　Kyoko Takubo+Yuichi Anzai+Namiko Watanabe An overview of Tsukishima. In contrast to the bright large city buildings, the small alleys and storefronts don’t leak much light Tsukuda is an fisherman island made in Edo-period. Tsukishima was landfilled in Meiji era and now there are still many row houses and small alleys. While the port area of Tokyo is going through mass redevelopment, we investigated the lighting environment of this area filled with intermingling old town houses and large city buildings. Tsukuda Tsukuda 1Chome Mainstreet. Children playing outside the old candy store Tsukuda 1 Chome Mainstreet is mainly lit with mercury lamps Tsukuda Machikado Museum. Its lit with LED3000K with about 134lx. Our investigation started by taking an overview photo from a tall building from the other side of the river. With the hustle and bustle bright lights from the Central area’s cityscape, there was one part that was dark- that is our target of this investigation, Tsukuda・Tsukishima. The dark patch from this area is even more pronounced as it is surrounded by the bright city lights all around.   As we get back on the ground, we headed towards Tsukuda 1 chome (Old Tsukuda Island) Mainstreet. On our way we saw the mercury lamp streetlights (4500K) emitting some green tinted white light. The average brightness was around 11lx. In the day you could still see a nostalgic scene with children playing outside the old candy store…

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…