Feb 8, 2014 - 1 min read

Ricoh Photo Gallery in Ginza

Great exhibition space for photography enthusiasts

Community writer

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The Ricoh Photo Gallery has exhibits ranging from the very old analog cameras of the 20th century to the latest digital imaging gadgetry. The 9th floor also functions as a workshop floor, you can pick up the schedule at the gallery.

The entrance to the gallery is on the 8th floor, and the entrance ticket to the gallery is 500 yen. The day I visited there was a black and white photography exhibition.

The art gallery also has multi media panels which showcase the Ricoh state of the art technology and photography samples delivered as digital brochures.

You can touch and feel all the state of art offerings from Ricoh and there is staff around (Japanese speaking only) who can guide on functions and other details.

The latest offering from Ricoh, the Theta Camera, which takes 360 panorama with a single click, was also on display. My first time to test it out connected to a smartphone and I think it is a pretty interesting concept.

The Ginza 4-chome traffic square where I have walked by so many times, thinking it as a advertising hoarding, actually hides the gallery on the 8th and 9th floor of the building. It was a discovery by chance when going the coffee shop on the second floor of the same building.

The Ricoh Photo Gallery building in the morning. Since the earthquake of March 11 the gallery is closed quite early at 16:00 in the evening, for power saving reasons.

For all photography enthusiasts there is a place in Ginza which you should not miss, the Ricoh Photo Gallery in Ginza 4-chome, a very popular landmark actually. The gallery has very old cameras on display and hi-tech latest gear all in one setting. There is also a photographer to photographer communication space where you can have discussions with fellow photographers (although mostly Japanese) and share your experiences. What a unique arrangement in an otherwise private and non-intrusive culture. If you are in the area you should also visit the Sony Building just two blocks away from the Ricoh Ginza Gallery.