the nightwalker along the seaside minato ward : August 19 2025

this is the tokyo tower from afar. on the way to takanawa gateway station, this nightwalker was trying to cross the streets, looked left and right like how we should before we do, and found this wonder just right there. she was of course far from us but her beauty could not be denied. i would have wanted to take a clearer picture while in the middle of the street but that would be too much of a disrespect for road rules. submitting this to street photography contest not because we were literally on the streets.

anyways, my housemate and i decided to continue our walk along train stations south of tokyo station. we boarded the train and got off at our starting station.

shimbashi station (新橋駅)

it was a long 40 minute ride and this peacock glass art greeted us at the station. i was not sure with the peacock but that art also showed a steam locomotion which was very fitting for shimbashi. in 1872, the historical terminus of the very first train line of japan was shimbashi. although neither of these two stations above was the original one, that train line connected tokyo to the nearby yokohama port area.

the jr station stamp also honored this fact with a train depicted. but let me introduce a new train line which surprisingly also has digital train stamps, the yurikamome line. it is an automated transit system which initially opened in 1995 with new stations later added in 2006, this line serves the reclaimed and waterfront lands of the odaiba area. yurikamome is also the common name for the black headed gull, the official bird of tokyo; thus, the train stamp featured the said bird.

here were the other views along the shimbashi area as we were heading to the next yurikamome station. concrete jungles never felt so real.

shiodome station (汐留駅)

the area was very modern around this station. i remembered how we usually come here in winters for their annual winter light up in one of their mall complexes. also saw the "ghibli" clock from a distance. it was here were we saw some tree lined parks, one part even looked like a gate from the "jurassic park" movies.

shiodome was less than 10 minutes walk from the previous station, and the kanji literally translates as "stopping the waves". that is probably because it literally was the first to stop the waves back then when reclaiming was not yet a thing in the tokyo bay.

a renaissance styled garden, italy park, was also nestled inside the sky scrapers. the park featured renaissance styled statues such as the above.

hamamatsucho station (浜松町駅)

we got back a bit inland with this next jr line station. there was a bit of a commotion near the entrance which involved the police when we arrived. the police was initially alone, we strolled the station a bit and now there were 4 policemen; japan will disorient you with numbers. now the baby is a wonder to me, no clue why or what it meant.

this station also had 2 train stamps, the jr line one featured the sea with the gulls and a boat. this for sure aligns with the nearby port area. the other stamp is from the tokyo monorail line, an airport rail linking to haneda airport. this rail was built inline with the tokyo summer olympics of 1964.

the area was a skywalk and highway jungle.

takeshiba station (竹芝駅)

turned again towards the sea and here we are with the next yurikamome line.

this bird is really a staple in all of the yurikamome train lines, this one seems to be learning how to fly.

walking a few meters from the station, we arrived at the takeshiba passenger ship terminal. passengers travelling to the izu islands by ship usually board in this terminal. the ships against the tokyo building skyline was a sight to behold.

the terminal had this ship mast displayed prominently in a large open space. sadly, there was no info if this was taken from a real ship. at a different angle, it will probably have a great view of the rainbow bridge in the background, but tonight that view was blocked by the two ships docked in the area. my housemate casually said though, the name rainbow bridge was misleading because there was nothing rainbow-ish of that bridge.

hinode station (日の出駅)

the next station was also close to a pier of the same name, hinode pier. this time, there also lots of small boats and yachts docked near the area. the place was quite famous as an endpoint or start point of cruises around the tokyo bay.

here is that bird again. hinode by the way literally means sunrise, "where the sun appears".

shibaura-futo station (芝浦ふ頭駅)

this station was the last of the yurikamome ones before crossing the sea via the rainbow-less rainbow bridge. as it is nearest the bridge, the area is a great vantage point for bridge lovers. zooming at the image, the train passes through the lower deck of the bridge. we could probably have a nightwalk crossing this bridge one time, it takes around 40 minutes by foot as estimated from this station to the next one across the waters.

the bird staring at us...

tamachi station (田町駅)

we headed back inland toward the tamachi station, this too was close to the many waterways around the area. now this mural at one side of the station building caught my eye. this was apparently about the peaceful surrender of the edo castle in 1868 which marked the transition from the feudal edo to the reforms in the meiji restoration. and that meeting happened near this very station.

the station stamp showed nothing of that though. it showed the rainbow bridge and one of the many cruise boats.

takanawa gateway station (高輪ゲートウェイ駅)

it was quite a long walk to this station and quite a boring uneventful one to be blunt, construction projects were still ongoing in the area. but everything changed upon arrival as the newest yamanote line station boasts a new architectural wonder.

all of these were still boarded up when i last came here so this was a revelation. the mall is scheduled to open later this month and the shop list was promising. but most importantly, those huge and wide walkways and very high ceilings were a marvel. wood was also a very prominent material used in the design and that made it extra elegant. this will surely become a shopping hub for this region.

as for the stamp, i could clearly see a globe which probably indicates the role of this new station as a global gateway between tokyo and the world. all the other buildings were still under construction but by the looks of this soon to be opened mall, the future looks very bright.

conclusion

we ended our nightwalk adventure at shinagawa station with that airport-like walkway. but we received a very sad news, the station stamp was placed inside a station facility and it was closed upon arrival. the station staff informed us hopefully though that it opens the next day from 6 am to 10 pm. i guess we will just have to be in this station before 10 pm next time. shinagawa just wants us to be back again next time. with nothing else to do and the time getting late, we boarded the train back home.

this night proved to be quite refreshing with views and breeze from the sea. i will still need a lot of convincing power though for us to take that walk-on-the-rainbow bridge challenge, my housemate is very hesitant at this point specially when she found out that it takes 40 minutes just to cross.

anyways, that is all for today.
as always, AMPING KANUNAY!

_{all content is by yours truly unless otherwise specified}

^{all photos are taken with a galaxy s23 ultra}

This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io