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The Daily Sights of Tokyo

Started by September 02, 2013 12:20 AM
24 comments, last by fir 11 years, 2 months ago

Tokyo is the largest city in the world and has many sights to see.

I have the pleasure of seeing quite a few of them every day on my way to work, so I decided to take one trip to work and photograph all of the main sights I see. All of these things can be seen from the train but I got off at the station for the photographs. All shots taken in order of appearance in one trip to the office except the first, because I already took the same shot long ago.

The thumbs are posted here. Most images have high-resolution links so you can see the details.

Click the spoilers in order and go on a journey!

[spoiler]I awaken early every day because the sooner I get to work the sooner I can go home. I tend to work from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Going home in full daylight is quite mentally healthy, but it’s also the only way I can sleep, because I can only sleep naturally during the day, especially at sunset (if I miss sunset I need pills to sleep).

The first thing I see every day is the Tokyo Skytree, the second-tallest man-made structure in the entire universe.

[attachment=17724:Sights1Thumb.png] Full View[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Next stop, the famous train system of Tokyo. Not much to see here so there won’t be a link to a full-sized version. I ride underground until Akihabara, by which time the sun will be up.

[attachment=17723:Sights0Thumb.png][/spoiler]

[spoiler]As I wait on the platform for my next train I get a grand view of the world’s largest electronics store: Yodobashi-Akiba.

[attachment=17725:Sights2Thumb.png] Full View[/spoiler]

[spoiler]As my train goes by Shimbashi I get a good view of the 1945 steam locomotive used to commemorate the first train made in Japan in 1872. This station was chosen because it was the name of the now-destroyed station from which the first train ran from Tokyo to Yokohama.

[attachment=17726:Sights3Thumb.png] Full View

Also visible are the Kyodo News building, Nihon TV building, Panasonic Electric Works building (behind the tree), the Dentsu building, and the Shiodome City Center building.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]As my train passes Hamamatsuchou I get a fairly close-up view of the Eiffel Tokyo Tower.

[attachment=17727:Sights4Thumb.png] Full View

The building in the lower-left is the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 3rd tallest building in Tokyo.

On the other side of the tracks you can see one of Canon’s buildings. I used a Canon to take these pictures!

[attachment=17728:Sights5Thumb.png] Full View[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Finally we arrive at Shinagawa station, my final destination. It was a Saturday and early in the morning (around 5:59 AM if my memory serves) so there were not so many people.

[attachment=17730:Sights6Thumb.png] Full View

Shinagawa is near Tokyo Bay and is Tokyo’s main industrial zone.

As soon as I walk out of the station and into sunlight, I step onto…

[attachment=17745:Sights13Thumb.png] Full View

…Rainbow Road!

This iconic road has made its way into numerous Mario Kart games. Now you’ve seen the real-life version that exists outside the east exit of Shinagawa station.

While I was taking this shot, a random woman saw my camera facing the elevator and asked what I was shooting. I told her this was Rainbow Road from Mario Kart and she gave me a strange look and moved on.

From there I see Sony Computer Entertainment’s development office. This is the actual building where SCE software developers work, and several of my coworkers used to work there.

[attachment=17731:Sights7Thumb.png] Full View

Just around the corner I see this:

[attachment=17732:Sights8Thumb.png] Full View

It’s a red light!

Oh, and Tokyo Tower in the distance.

And the headquarters of NTT COMWARE.

And Sony’s main headquarters.

And the headquarters of Kokuyo, makers of the Campus notebooks.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]My trip leads me straight to Sony headquarters.

[attachment=17733:Sights9Thumb.png] Full View

I walk alongside and around the back of it (or sometimes straight through it if I need to go to the bathroom) and when I emerge alongside the next road, behind me I see the NTT DoCoMo Shinagawa Building.

[attachment=17734:Sights10Thumb.png] Full View

Just down the road I cross a river, and as I look across it I see the Panasonic AVC building (see full view).

[attachment=17735:Sights11Thumb.png] Full View

This direction is south and this river flows directly into Tokyo Bay and then the Pacific Ocean.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Even after arriving at my office there are sights to behold. From a window of our office I can see the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Bay.

[attachment=17736:Sights12Thumb.png] Full View

The structures covering the bottom area of the photo are the tracks for the Shinkansen, Japan’s bullet train.

But perhaps the most glorious and wonderful of all of Tokyo is the collection of LEGO® Technic™ I keep at my work desk.

[attachment=17737:Sights13Thumb.png][/spoiler]

Tokyo is my favorite city for a reason. So much to see and do, even if you live here you can never do it all.

As a tourist destination, let’s just say that I see all of these things and more in the 35 minutes it takes to get to the office. Just imagine spending a whole week here.

I hope you enjoyed my trip to the office!

L. Spiro

I restore Nintendo 64 video-game OST’s into HD! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCtX_wedtZ5BoyQBXEhnVZw/playlists?view=1&sort=lad&flow=grid

?????? I miss Tokyo.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

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Thank you for sharing smile.png

Glad that you enjoy the place you live in!

I'm not a big fan of big cities myself. I've been in big cities (10 million people) but where I live we're 300 thousand people and thats right over the "too much" border for me :P

"I AM ZE EMPRAH OPENGL 3.3 THE CORE, I DEMAND FROM THEE ZE SHADERZ AND MATRIXEZ"

My journals: dustArtemis ECS framework and Making a Terrain Generator

well, i got to see New Orleans, before Katrina.

Amsterdam and Great barrier reef were still on the list.

been most everywhere else.

"now i've seen everything - least everything i want " - diamond david lee roth - skyscraper

i was dragged around by mom - she was james bond - world traveller (and spy) before i was born.

but looks like you just made me add a third desination to the list.

shame on you! <g>

PS: please post more pics!

PPS: love the legos! its was my only (and favorite) toy as a kid. now i play with "mental lego blocks" (software) building games. guess i'm just big kid at heart.

Norm Barrows

Rockland Software Productions

"Building PC games since 1989"

rocklandsoftware.net

PLAY CAVEMAN NOW!

http://rocklandsoftware.net/beta.php

Nice pictures smile.png I remember when I lived abroad in China. I also loved to see all the nice street views. In many ways Tokyo and Beijing look the same(tall buildings only, Beijing is sadly very polluted in these years). The feeling I remember most is the feeling of being a part of something big as one felt really small in a huge city with a population between 13-20 millions.

I will have to see Japan one day, that is for sure. Perhaps even pick up Japanese as I learned the Mandarin.

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education"

Albert Einstein

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education"

Albert Einstein

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I added the full-sized images and another picture to the first post.
Here are other pictures of Tokyo not on my daily trip to work.
Disclaimer: All photos I have posted were taken by me except the one of Lomonosov Moscow State University. I don’t mind if you want to use them for anything as long as due credit is given.

Tokyo, the metal jungle I call home. It’s hard to see but the highway in the center of the photo goes from underground to above-ground, and is the location of a scene in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Shortly after they emerge they are suddenly on the Rainbow Bridge, which doesn’t make much sense, but who’s counting?
[attachment=17754:Sights14Thumb.png] Full view

This sculpture on top of the Asahi building is supposed to represent the froth of the Asahi beer but also the flaming passion that goes into the beer.
Most people (including Japanese) just call it the “Giant Poo” and the building underneath as the “Poo Building”.
[attachment=17755:Sights15Thumb.png] Full view

The Sumida River flows into the Tokyo Bay, partially spanned by the Rainbow Bridge shown here in the distance. The tall twin buildings to the right with the designs on them are The Tokyo Towers condominium buildings, the 2nd-tallest condominium buildings in Japan but with the highest floor count at 58 floors. This is the Chuo ward of Tokyo which sits at the top of Tokyo Bay, which eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean.
[attachment=17756:Sights16Thumb.png] Full View


Shown here is a very small section of the whole of Tokyo, primarily the Minato and Chiyoda wards. Minato holds the tall buildings in the distance. The tall tower in the back center is the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. At the same level, the tall building on the right in the back is the Midtown Tower which is the tallest completed building in Tokyo and holds the headquarters of Konami.
Slightly closer to us and to the far left is a building with a bunch of cranes on it. That is the Toranomon Hills building which is still under construction. When it is completed it will be the tallest building in Tokyo, though at its current point in construction it is already taller than the Midtown Tower.

In the center of the photo much closer to us is a cluster of buildings. This is the Chiyoda area where Tokyo Station lives. This is the business and financial area of Tokyo where I worked when I first moved to Japan.
The cluster of buildings in Chiyoda shown here directly blocks the view to the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
[attachment=17757:Sights17Thumb.png] Full View



The tall buildings of Shinjuku. At center stage in the back is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building #1.
To the right of that you can see the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, and further to the right the Shinjuku I Land Tower Building.
The pointed tower to the far left is the NTT DoCoMo service building, the second-tallest clock tower in the world.

[attachment=17759:Sights18Thumb.png] Full view


While we are on Shinjuku…
The 48-story Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building #1 and the 37-story building #2.
[attachment=17760:Sights19Thumb.png] Full view

The 50-story Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It is the second-tallest educational building in the world.
[attachment=17761:Sights20Thumbs.png] Full View
The tallest educational building in the world is the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia.
6671834443_d7d26775f4_z.jpg
Without the decorative spire on top it is 22 meters shorter than the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, and it is only 36 stories compared to Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower’s 50, meaning that the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower is for all practical reasons the tallest educational facility in the world.


Finally, this is where I live. You can even see the dock from where I took the first picture in this thread.
[attachment=17762:Sights21Thumb.png] Full view


On the rare occasions when it snows, I get a view from my room like something from Resident Evil.
184159_10150250257961470_3268979_n.jpg

Last year’s solar eclipse passed directly over my room, giving me shots of a perfect ring between the moon and sun.
But this shot, while not at the exact time of perfection, turned out best.
576508_10150803208926470_587586411_n.jpg

Tokyo is a great place to live, but there are rare occasions in which it has some down-sides.
This is the result of my old office at my previous job after the 3-11-2011 earthquakes.
200228_10150106708251470_4868634_n.jpg

My building is new and earthquake-proof, but the building next to mine is not…
196329_10150104609171470_347544_n.jpg


L. Spiro

I restore Nintendo 64 video-game OST’s into HD! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCtX_wedtZ5BoyQBXEhnVZw/playlists?view=1&sort=lad&flow=grid


Tokyo is a great place to live, but there are rare occasions in which it has some down-sides.
This is the result of my old office at my previous job after the 3-11-2011 earthquakes.

Well that is one of the drawbacks with Asian cities tongue.png

On the rare occasions when it snows, I get a view from my room like something from Resident Evil.

Now that is a nice view for a cup of tea biggrin.png

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education"

Albert Einstein

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education"

Albert Einstein

Looks nice, lacks greenery but still decent, I always wanted to explore Japan / China when I was younger, sadly I hate long distance travelling. Saying that I am more than happy with Europe

Edit: Nvm, just read into it :)

fine.. as a contrary I am coding now in the country in some programmers

'cave' ('garage') which looks :

[attachment=17776:forgs.jpg]

no crazy travels to work and back everyday - fully independant garage development here (village scenery - not too much modern environment i know)

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