The Magic Of Tokyo’s Street Lamps

6 Jun 2008 Category: Features, Japan

The Magic Of Tokyo’s Street Lamps

Some of Tokyo's overlooked accessories, street lights here can be retro, futuristic or adorable: In Uguisudani, near Ueno, tiny "ugui" birds (Japanese bush warblers) and cherry blossoms adorn some of the lamps. This was the only bird we saw in the neighbourhood, though...

Do you know of a place where street lights can simply be cute, glowing pieces of urban art in their own right and not instantly connected to the crime rate in the street? Japan, with its sense of detail and playfulness, puts its own spin on what a street light could be, creating designs which range from the elegant retro to a futuristic aura that might be found on board the Starship Enterprise. Within the busy streets of Tokyo, such details often go unnoticed – until now. We take them for granted, yet they have been carefully designed and engineered to shape our impression of – as well as our behaviour in – the cityscape. And more importantly, we try to understand what really makes a good street light. Prepare for a romantic stroll!

Written by Michael Mahoney

Classification

First of all, several different types of street lights actually exist: roadway lighting illuminates the street for drivers, while walkway lighting lights up the sidewalks for pedestrians.

Walkway lighting, definitely! The peaceful hood of Nakaochiai features these thrilling retro designs, to match your parents’ orange and brown curtains…

Regarding size, there are high-mounted lights (six to nine meters high) that light up streets and sidewalks, medium-mounted lights (two to four meters high) and a smaller version – generally dimmer and closer together, which illuminate the sidewalks. And, to get more into the details of pedestrian lighting, while high-mounted lights are generally designed to blend into a cityscape unnoticed, medium-mount lights are more decorative, and are designed aesthetically to fit a city’s image. Chique!

Purpose


Tender blossoms illuminating your path in Ebisu… How romantic! Photo by Tim Rudder

Urban planners, city governments and beautification groups around the world seem to agree that street lights serve the following (obvious) purposes: to help drivers and pedestrians see their way at night; to promote safety in the streets after dark; to contribute to the atmosphere of an area; to accentuate the architecture of a place.
Also, as concerns over energy costs arise, a good lamp should also reduce light pollution and conserve energy as much as possible – and keep Al Gore happy…

Keeping this in mind, planners and lighting designers put a lot of consideration into street lighting design all over the world. However, in Tokyo, there has been an extra bit of aesthetic consideration going on. For example:

Secure Design

Police forces, such as the Bureau of Street Lighting in L.A., claim that good street lighting makes a city safer. Some scientific research supports them: Referring to secure design, a Home Office study in the UK found that “improved lighting led to reductions in crime, with an overall twenty percent reduction in crime in experimental areas.” Whatever they might have meant by ‘experimental’…

Oh my! Astro Boy and his friends decorate the lamp posts in Takadano-baba! Makes you feel even safer… Photo by Tim Rudder

However, again the Brits come up with an interesting study called The Effect Of Better Street Lighting On Crime And Fear saying that lights actually are more important in making us feel safe. Since we can see our surroundings more easily, we feel less threatened. Sounds reasonable!

Now, what would make us feel safe? According to the City of Auckland, a good, safe street light should let us see a stranger when he is around ten to fifteen metres meters away from us. (Also note their handy Dark sky best practice guide to prevent from obtrusive light.) Another research by the British Building Research Establishment shows us that normal-sighted people can see a wandering stranger’s face and judge his or her intent from twelve and a half meters away. Keep that in mind, next time you stroll down a dark street…

Not exactly intended for sinister nights: These futuristic, high-mounted wonders in Okachimachi are meant to “blend in” with the surroundings… or perhaps to promote a more cutting-edge image?

Classical Conditioning

Beyond this functionality, St. Louis Great Streets - an ‘initiative to expand the way communities think of their streets’ - states that “street light equipment… can help shape the character and aesthetics of the streetscape and neighbourhood”. How would that be exactly?

For one: the light distribution. Different types of lighting can make an evening street seem bleak – or inviting. Dimmer lights make you want to relax and, while doing so, perhaps spend some time in a shop or two. Brighter lights, however, may make you want to walk faster…

Gentle lighting near Asakusa Kannon invites us to take a lovely evening stroll… past some closed storefronts and beer cans. Photo by Tim Rudder

Over the years, planners seem to have learned how to shape our behaviour in a city by using different kinds of lighting. Again, it’s Auckland’s metropolitan government that came up with interesting research. It produced a chart showing how different colour renderings and colour temperatures of light can make people behave in various ways: if the lighting is warm, then pedestrians will linger and relax; if the lighting is cool then, although the area will appear safe, folks will generally keep walking. A fact that also marketing departments find quite useful…

Does this shape your image of energetic Shimokitazawa? This fancy and artful lamp specimen right next to Shimokita station does its magic.

Shaping The Neighbourhood Identity

We know you pass by so many every day – but have you ever noticed the size and shape of a street light? Take a look! According to Lighting Design Lab, the appearance of the lamps themselves can also add to the image of a place: “A city that wants a high-tech appearance for its downtown, for example, can choose fixtures that support this image, while a city that wants to project a more quaint or rustic image can choose decorative or antique-style fixtures.”

Performers from the past light the way in one part of Asakusa, reflecting the area’s famous “rakugo” comedy scene… Photo by Tim Rudder

… and the whole row of characters of Eastern Tokyo’s past. Photo by Tim Rudder

In this way, the lamp can also be used to reflect the history of an area, and can be designed with certain details to mirror an area’s architectural or cultural history. In Asakusa, for example, an area known for its traditional rakugo comedy theatres, some back streets are lit up with images of past comedians (above,) while some other lamps leading up to the renowned Senso-ji temple, are made to match the shape of – you guessed it – cute little temples (below!)

Sometimes, street lights can simply be cute, glowing pieces of urban art in their own right, regardless of their surroundings. This seems particularly true in Tokyo, where both “high-mount lights” and “medium-mount lights” have some great design - sometimes mismatched, with no apparent reason. While walking down a street crowded with rush-hour business suits, the unexpected sight of a massive glowing flower or a teeny bird really does make us smile…

Playfully expanding the temple theme into the urban street, as seen in Asakusa with the Asakusa Kannon in the back.

Measures

With light pollution blanching urban night skies and energy costs straining municipal budgets, there are quite a few anti-light-pollution groups, such as The International Dark-Sky Association, arguing that a good street light should also be designed to cut back on wasted energy. Apart from the American National Dark-Sky Week, what can be done?

Saturn in the dark sky…? But no, it’s the attack of the flying saucers! Photo by Tim Rudder

Some lamps are simply designed with shields or metal panels on top of the lights to reflect light downwards, thus cutting back on extra light being sent up into the night sky.


The flying saucers, again! Photo by Tim Rudder

Another option: solar-powered street lights! We already showed you some interesting new technologies in Africa that use the sun as power source. However, they exist in great variety. Take for example Shenzhen Topcom Information CO.’s line of solar-powered pedestrian and yard lights, with the familiar space-age-y designs George Jetson would have loved!

The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has taken another route and designed LED street lights to be used in the city. According to the New York Climate Summit report, these futuristic LED bulbs use between fifty to eighty percent less energy than conventional ones, point downwards (thus little light pollution) and last up to ten years, while conventional bulbs only last for two.

Over time, if used throughout the city, the LED lights could save $100,000 to $700,000 a year on street light, traffic crossing energy and maintenance.

Neither LED, nor solar-powered, but still utmost lovely! Colourful lamps in Hongo, a studious area outside of the University of Tokyo. A Rubik’s cube in a new shape…?

That’s quite a lot! Be they romantic or bright, now we all want eco-conscious street lights with flowers, birds or comedians! Next time you stroll down Asakusa or any other Tokyo neighbourhood, pay a bit more attention to the beauties above you. Very special thanks to Tim Rudder for his extra bits of wonderful lamp shots!!

57 Comments

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