Rainbow Bridge in special colors for Tokyo
Rainbow Bridge in special colors! In 2020, I was determined to get that photo. We had been in lockdown for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic. So I hadn’t done an after-dark shoot in Tokyo for about three months! That was a long time for a person who loves night photography.
So, with everyone free to do as they please, I resumed my night shoots. And for this article, I wanted to go to Rainbow Bridge. Can I hear someone saying, “Again?”. Yes, I’ve taken many pictures there, but this was different.
You have to realize Tokyo, at that time, wasn’t out of the woods. The disease was still here, and even though things were returning to semi-normality, people still fell victim to it. To bring attention to that, the Tokyo Metropolitan government decided to light up the bridge in a different scheme, blue followed by red. I wanted to photograph that! It was a stunning color scheme.
What did the special colors mean?
In the early evening, the first color was blue. Blue was chosen to show respect to the medical staff who have served their communities. Many of them had worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. As blue is often associated with credibility, trust, knowledge, cleanliness, knowledge, calm, and focus, it was the obvious choice.
At 8 pm, blue changed to red for “red alert.” Even though the lockdown had ended, the pandemic hadn’t. People were still contracting coronavirus, and there had been big spikes in numbers. They needed to be reminded that Tokyo wasn’t out of danger. We, the public, shouldn’t get complacent. Who listened?
Were Rainbow Bridge's colors effective?
Initially, the special colors did. But after visiting Odaiba, I thought they were terrible. After a couple of days, they lost their meaning and impact. To use something constantly reduces it to the mundane. It looks nice, but that is all.
I took some pictures at Marine House, a small building on the beach that has a kiosk and some restaurants. It has an observation deck on its third floor, not very high but good enough to get pictures of Rainbow Bridge. But most importantly, few people go there. Once I finished, I moved to the deck near the Statue of Liberty for a different perspective. That turned out to be a mistake.
The Rainbow Bridge observation deck was crowded. Not a single person seemed worried about social distancing. It was the perfect place to catch the coronavirus. So I moved a long distance back from the crowd. I went home after a couple of quick shots (including that ugly fence).
Yes, Rainbow Bridge, in its special colors, looked beautiful. But it brought so many people together on that observation deck. Most doctors probably weren’t happy about that. Leave questions and comments below.
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
More night photography articles:
External related websites:
- Light up of the Rainbow Bridge (on Shutoko
Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited website)