The story
A fragment of
the city, frozen
In any Tokyo backstreet you'll find signs like this one: light boxes worn down by the years, bolted to a pole, advertising something almost no one remembers anymore. By day they're just grey panels. By night, they switch on and become small red beacons.
This page recreates that exact moment: the click of the switch, the hum of the ballast, and those few seconds where the fluorescent tube decides whether it feels like turning on.
How it works
Tap the sign
Each tap alternates between the lit and unlit photos of the real sign.
Ballast sound
A hum synthesized right in the browser mimics an old fluorescent light starting up and shutting off.
Real flicker
When switched on, the sign flickers a couple of times before settling, just like old tubes do.