ＩＤＣＳ英会話の「Pix & English」: Odaiba Tokyo

We arrived at Odaiba Park around 3:30 a.m. Although a couple of hours before sunrise, the sky was actually quite bright due to a a waxing gibbous moon, and the ambient city lights reflecting off of the scattered cloud cover.

Access by car (from Nihonbashi) is a 22-minute drive via normal streets or a 14-minute drive via the expressway to the Municipal Parking Lot closest to Daiba Park.

Access by train from Shinbashi Station on the Yurikamome Line: a 24-minute train ride + a 11-minute walk from Odaiba-Kaihinkoen Station.

Sightseeing information for the Odaiba district is available here:

Odaiba Travel Guide - 15 Must Do Things In Tokyo's Best Entertainment Spot!
Recommended Courses for shopping, sightseeing, strolls, etc.
Tokyo's entertainment isle—high-tech, modern and colorful
Futuristic Architecture on a man made island
Haven of Shopping and Entertainment on Tokyo Bay

For this photo shoot, I wanted to capture nightscape/cityscape compositions without the fuss of worrying about blocking tourists and local families living on the island with my camera gear (cameras and tripods).

Fortunately, I did not see any other people at the parks, beach, or tourist spots until about an hour after sunrise.

First shot was taken on the edge of Daiba Park almost directly under the Rainbow Bridge. Tokyo Tower, a lattice tower whose design was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, is the 2nd largest tallest structure at 332.9 meters (1,092 ft). A beautiful symbol of Tokyo that has been around since 1958. Buildings surrounding the tower were softened in post processing to help the tower stand out from among the glare of so many lights and reflections.

Communications and Observation Tower in Tokyo

Portfolio: https://pix4japan.myportfolio.com

Pentax KP 210 mm ISO 100 for 40.0 sec. at ƒ/13

#tower #structure #nightscape #cityscape #TokyoTower #Tokyo #Japan #symbol #landmark

#タワー #東京タワー #東京 #港区 #シンボル #ランドマーク #夜景写真 #都市景観 #都市景観

The second shot was taken from the beach looking towards the shoreline. Tokyo Rainbow Bridge connects Minato Ward, Tokyo with the Odaiba waterfront development district—a man-made island sitting in the middle of Tokyo Bay. The bridge uses solar panels during the day to “paint” the bridge in red, white, and green every night. The sun had just risen at the time this shot was taken. Streaks of light were able to break through the clouds and shine on the high-rise apartment building in the distance. A grad filter was used for the upper portion of the shot (to increase contrast) and a reverse grad filter was applied to the bottom portion of the shot to decrease contrast and increase exposure.

Suspension Bridge Crossing Northern Tokyo Bay

Portfolio: https://pix4japan.myportfolio.com

Pentax KP 88 mm ISO 100 for 10.0 sec. at ƒ/14

#landmark #cablestayed #TokyoBay #RainbowBridge #Tokyo #Odaiba #Japan #cityscape

#橋 #湾 #東京港 #レインボーブリッジ #東京 #港区 #大台場 #都市景観 #都市景観

The original 14-ton 22-meter tall statue titled “Liberty Enlightening the World” (aka Statue of Liberty) was donated to France by American expats in 1889 to commemorate the French Revolution. In 1998, the statue was shipped from France an put on display in Tokyo to commemorate 100 years of French-Japanese relations. After the statue returned to France a year later, a replica was built and placed at Odaiba Island in Tokyo Bay. This shot was taken at a distance of only 44.43 ft. (13.54 m) from the pedestal of the statue with the shortest focal length possible with the lens I was using.

Replica Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World

Portfolio: https://pix4japan.myportfolio.com

Pentax KP 18 mm ISO 100 for 1/160 sec. at ƒ/3.5

#landmark #StatueofLiberty #LadyLiberty #TokyoBay #Odaiba #Tokyo #Japan #cityscape

#自由の女神像 #橋 #湾 #東京港 #レインボーブリッジ #東京 #港区 #大台場 #都市景観 #都市景観

Blue hour view of Tokyo Tower as viewed from Daiba Park, part of the waterfront development district—a man-made island sitting in the middle of Tokyo Bay. Positioning of the camera for this shot was almost the same as the shot above. Post processing of this image aims to subdue the tones of all other structures to help the tower stand out without too much difference with the surrounding structures.

Communications and Observation Tower in Tokyo

Portfolio: https://pix4japan.myportfolio.com

Pentax KP 135 mm ISO 100 for 1/500 sec. at ƒ/5.6

#tower #structure #nightscape #cityscape #TokyoTower #Tokyo #Japan #symbol #landmark

#タワー #東京タワー #東京 #港区 #シンボル #ランドマーク #夜景写真 #都市景観 #都市景観

View of Rainbow Bridge from Daiba Park. The park is actually an island that was built in 1854 as one of several batteries built for coastal defenses after the arrival of USN Commodore Perry in 1853. Remnants of stone cannon pedestals, ammunition storehouses, and barracks can still be seen at the park. The shot aims to focus on symmetry. Post processing was minimal, so this image is close to the RAW file that came out of camera.