Statue of Liberty, Tokyo

The Statue of Liberty, gift of France to the USA, is of course standing on Liberty Island in New York harbor. There are two small versions in Paris, one near the Pont de Grenelle and the other in the Jardin du Luxembourg. At Soulac in the Médoc, near Bordeaux, another reduced copy can be seen. Since 2004 yet another such statue stands at the entrance of Colmar, the birthplace of Bartholdi in Eastern France.

But we are talking about Japan.

The third (in size) Statue of Liberty in the world is in Odaiba, i.e. Tokyo Bay. In 1998-1999 Japan was celebrating "The Friendship with France Year", and the Grenelle statue from Paris was loaned to Tokyo. When the statue was sent back to Paris, the Tokyo authorities asked permission to keep a copy.

So now in front of the Rainbow bridge one can see the liberty enlightening the world.

Tokyo and Paris are sister cities. In the background behind the rainbow bridge (centre in the above picture), one can see the Tokyo Tower which is a replica of the Eiffel Tower. The Japanese version is orange and slightly taller, because the antenna at the top is longer.