TOKYO'S SECRET VIEWPOINT

As I wrote in my article about the Skytree, Tokyo has plenty of places where you can climb up to some kind of observation deck. Some charge admission, others are free. But today I'll let you in on a secret spot that will absolutely amaze you.

In a few places I'd come across a photograph of Mount Fuji literally towering over Tokyo. I had only ever seen Fuji from a plane, and looking at the map it was clear to me that it lies so far from Tokyo that a shot like that must have been taken with a lens of a truly long focal length. But where do you take a photo like that from, when there are so many options?

My first idea was that it might be a shot taken from the government building. The map suggested it could work. So I made my way to one of the towers, rode up to the observation floor, but… For one thing, Fuji was shrouded in cloud, and even if it had been perfectly visible, it wouldn't have been the view I was expecting. There were simply no other skyscrapers standing between me and Fuji to create a striking contrast with the mountain. All I could see was a long valley.

So that evening I sat down at the computer and searched for another vantage point that might work. After a while I found one, and the very next morning I decided to give it a try. I set out early, the sky was cloudless, and so I hoped visibility would be good too – and above all that I was heading to the right place.

I found the building (the Bunkyo Civic Center) quite easily. It isn't as tall as other observation decks (only 146 metres), but on the other hand it's free. I took the lift up to my destination, and the moment the doors opened, my breath caught in my throat. Not only was visibility perfect and Mount Fuji clearly visible, but it sat in exactly the spot I had dreamed of.

As I'd expected, capturing the shot called for a focal length of 400 mm, and I took a few frames at 600 mm as well. The mountain rose majestically beside the very skyscrapers among which I had been searching for it the day before. For about 30 minutes I couldn't tear myself away from this view. It was an absolutely perfect place. Almost no one was there, just a handful of Japanese who, like me, knew about this vista.

The side where the Skytree stands is also nicely visible from here, but to photograph that area it would be better to arrive in the early evening, once the sun is on the other side. I shot a few more time-lapse sequences of the streets, spent a while photographing the interesting reflections in the glass all around me, and then I simply left, contented. This really was a place I will never forget.

The Bunkyo Civic Center is a government building constructed in 1994. It was designed by the architectural firm Nikken Sekkei Ltd. The observation deck is on the 25th of its 28 floors. The building stands on the site of the former town hall of the Bunkyo ward.

Address: 1 Chome-16-21 Kasuga, Bunkyō, Tokyo.

Tripods and monopods are not allowed here. Either you'll be very cheeky and get lucky that none of the staff throw you out, or bring along some object you can rest a camera with a telephoto lens on. The Japanese, for instance, bring a few books.

Visibility tends to be best in the morning, and especially during the winter months. In summer there's too much humidity in the air and Fuji is often veiled in haze. Fortunately, a number of anti-smog measures have been put in place here, so visibility across the whole Tokyo area has improved considerably in recent years.

Definitely bring a telephoto lens with a focal length of 200 or 300 mm. You'll also make great use of various teleconverters here, which will let you shoot detailed frames of Fuji in the context of the skyscrapers. Just watch out to shoot at a shutter speed of at least 1/300s so your photos come out sharp. And if you can't manage a speed that fast? In cases like that it really pays to set the camera down and shoot with the self-timer.