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Catching Fire from Afar: Itabashi Fireworks and the Skytree
Back in 2012, I submitted a photograph to the Itabashi Ward Fireworks Photography Contest that turned out to be a winner. What made that shot unusual wasn’t just the fireworks themselves—it was where I stood. Instead of squeezing into the crowds in Itabashi Ward, I positioned myself 22 kilometers away in Funabori. From there, the fireworks bloomed across the night sky, but the Tokyo Skytree rose in the foreground, a calm sentinel against the burst of light and color.
The contrast was striking: the engineered elegance of the Skytree, steady and grounded, against the fleeting brilliance of hanabi, a reminder of Japanese 夏祭り tradition. One symbolizing permanence and progress, the other celebrating impermanence and beauty.
That frame—Skytree in front, Itabashi hanabi exploding in the distance—captured both sides of Tokyo that night. Modern ambition and timeless joy in a single click.
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