It has been three and a half years since the last time I went spotting at sea for Haneda Airport from Tokyo Bay. Taking advantage of the good weather, I joined a similar activity again, and the results were quite satisfying.

Thai Airways Boeing 747-400, this type is becoming increasingly rare. <img src=https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/1/1/8/5815811.jpg?v=v444724ab677>

ANA’s 2020 Olympics Special Livery. Front lighting. Blue sky background. Side-top view. A perfect aviation photo. <img src=https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/7/6/5/5815567.jpg?v=v4d6ea61e207>

While these photos may not look particularly special at first glance, actually shooting aircraft in the sky from low ground, 99.9% of the time you get the belly, not the full side of the fuselage, and it is usually backlit. This is a location understood only by an extremely niche group, yielding a result akin to close-up aerial photography.

JAL’s 2020 Olympics Mascot Special Livery. <img src=https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/7/6/2/5834267.jpg?v=v497ffaee6c2> The blue mascot Miraitowa is the Tokyo Olympics mascot, and the cherry blossom-colored mascot Someity is the Tokyo Paralympics mascot.

JAL’s first A350, the lightweight and slender fuselage looks truly beautiful.

JAL’s fourth A350, the special livery aircraft of the popular Japanese pop group “Arashi”.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777, rare to see the gear retracted so late; it’s been over ten seconds since the Turn. It is quite likely that the crew forgot to retract the gear.

A beautiful China Southern Boeing 787. The livery on the fuselage and the wing shape of the Dreamliner make the aircraft look like a large bird gliding with spread wings from this angle.

JAL 787

A look at the chart reveals why this perspective effect can be captured: The VAMOS ONE Departure is as follows,

RWY05: Climb on HDG 050˚ at or above 500FT, direct to TT501, turn right direct to TT502, to LOCUP at or above 5000FT, to VAMOS at or above 9000FT.

The aircraft begins to Turn at 500 feet, so taking a boat to the sea near the Runway creates this perfect location for continuous shooting.

For aircraft taking off from RWY05, if the timing is right, you can achieve the following effect with Mount Fuji in the background. Not bad for an aviation landscape photo.

Additionally, there are aircraft on Arrival, such as the rare Lufthansa Retro Livery Boeing 747-8i, or this ANA 787 shot from the side before landing, These rare shooting opportunities are only possible from the sea.