Tokyo district
The place
Ginza is the polished counterpart to Shibuya’s chaos. Its grid of streets between Yurakucho and Tsukiji is lined with brand flagships whose façades are designed to be looked at — perforated metal, glass brick, lantern-like lighting at dusk — and the pavements are wide enough to frame a full-length portrait without fighting the crowd. The Wako clock tower on the 4-chome crossing, completed in 1932, is the landmark everyone recognises.
The district’s best feature for a shoot is the weekend pedestrian zone: on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, Chuo-dori closes to cars from noon between 1-chome and 8-chome, and the middle of the road becomes a promenade. Rooftop gardens on GINZA SIX and the Kabukiza Tower are free and give height. Shop doorways are private property, though, and security staff will stop staged shoots in entrances, so we use the street, not the stores.
Before you go
Ginza’s kimono shops sell rather than rent, and kimono is an unusual choice on these streets. If you want it, dress in Asakusa — 17 minutes away on the Ginza line — or ask us to quote a dresser at your hotel; it suits the Kabukiza frontage better than the shopping streets. For most Ginza sessions we suggest evening or smart-casual wear.
No staged shots in shop doorways, inside department stores or in building lobbies. On the pedestrian Chuo-dori, tripods and stands are not allowed and police patrol the zone; keep to the road, not the store entrances. Kabukiza staff ask that performances are not photographed. Shop staff are not part of the scene — do not photograph them through the glass.
Ginza Station is on the Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines; Higashi-ginza serves Kabukiza on the Hibiya and Toei Asakusa lines, the latter running through from Haneda in about 30 minutes. JR Yurakucho is a five-minute walk, and Tokyo Station ten to fifteen minutes on foot.
The spots
Here is where to shoot in Ginza, with the hours that work and the venue rules.
The curved neo-Renaissance corner of Wako with its clock, opposite the cylindrical San-ai building. The clock chimes on the hour; a frame of you on the far corner with the tower lit behind is the classic Ginza evening shot.
Light through the year
Dark by five; the window displays change for the season and Christmas lights fill the side streets.
Light lasts until seven; the street faces run north–south, so the pavement is in shade from mid-afternoon.
About a kilometre of Ginza’s main street, closed to cars, with the flagships rising either side. Standing on the centre line with the street vanishing behind is the frame that is impossible on a weekday.
A planted roof terrace above the largest shopping complex in Ginza, with views over the low rooflines towards Tokyo Tower. It is calm, open and rarely busy on weekday afternoons.
The 2013 rebuild keeps the curved gables and red lanterns of the old theatre, with an office tower set back behind. It is the one Ginza backdrop where kimono belongs, and the façade is lit in the evening.
Brick arches under the JR tracks between Yurakucho and Shimbashi, filled with yakitori counters and beer crates. Trains rumble overhead every few minutes — a gritty, five-minute contrast at the end of a polished Ginza session.
District by district
Shoots here
These are booked from their service page; the photographer meets you here at the same price.
Read before you book
No travel charge
These come under the Ginza rate: the photographer travels out at no extra charge, and the shoot is priced exactly as it would be in Ginza itself.
Before you book
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from noon until 6 pm (5 pm from October to March), weather permitting. We schedule weekend Ginza sessions inside that window.
It works best on a quiet rooftop rather than the street. We scout the GINZA SIX or Kabukiza roof gardens on a weekday evening, shoot from a discreet distance, and reveal ourselves after the answer.
From the pavement or the pedestrian street, yes — the façades are part of the street. Using a shop’s doorway or steps as a set is not allowed, and we never shoot inside the stores.
Next step
We reply within 2 hours, 9:00–21:00 Japan time. No deposit required to enquire.
