Tokyo - Odaiba
Odaiba is a man-made island facing Tokyo Bay, about 30 minutes from central Tokyo. It’s made a name for itself as a one stop shop for entertainment, combining an extensive shopping area with a beach and lots of arcades.
Gundam wing statue.
How to get to Odaiba
The best way to get to Odaiba is to take Yurikamome line, a rather slow monorail-like train that provides you with awesome views of Tokyo.
Gundam wing statue
Odaiba is home to a giant 1/1 scale Gundam Wing statue (18 meters high), near the Diver City shopping mall. A nice picture-taking opportunity.
Odaiba beach
Odaiba contains a small beach with a lively atmosphere. Unfortunately you are not allowed to swim there, so the point of a beach is a bit taken away. Even with this restriction in place it’s a good place to chill, have a drink and enjoy the wonderful view of Tokyo bay.
Corporate showrooms
Toyota Mega web
This corporate showroom of car manufacturer Toyota shows off new and old Toyota cars.
The ground floor is mostly a collection of around 30 cars including some race painted models. You can get behind the wheel if you want to - hop in one of the stationary cars to check out the interior or even go for a test drive on a small track. Don’t expect too much - your speed is limited to 40km/h.
Next to that there is a weird 90’s style “4D” movie you can watch for free, taking you on a strange virtual ride — the goal seemingly being to learn kids that they should really fasten their seat belt.
The second floor is dedicated to the newest Toyota technologies. You can watch videos about automatic braking systems and test out the technologies in a simulated ride. Since all of the exhibition was in Japanese it wasn’t very clear to me. However, I did get to see this Toyota bike that by design can never fall down:
Panasonic
Odaiba is the home to a Panasonic corporate showroom where you can view the latest Panasonic technology. This showroom is similar to the Panasonic center in Osaka.
- See: Panasonic Center, Osaka
- Address: …
This article is incomplete. More information will be added in future versions of this guide.
Fuji TV building
Even from the Yurikamome train you can already spot this weird building with a silvery sphere hanging between it’s oddly arranged columns of concrete. This is the home to the Fuji television station. Inside they offer guided tours but they’re in Japanese. As a tourist you’re just likely to pass the building and wonder what the architect inhaled to draw up such a strange building. If you happen to leave Odaiba at night, take another look from the train and see if you can spot the spectacular light show projecting anime characters on the side of the building.
Shopping malls
Fans of anime will enjoy the shopping malls which feature characters from various anime shows.
Lego Center
This article is incomplete. More information will be added in future versions of this guide.
Joypolis
Joypolis is an indoor theme park close to Oidaba beach. The venue offers several rides including a snowboard simulation, a running contest and a raft ride down a virtual river. If you’re looking for some thrills in Odaiba, this is the place to go.
Leisureland
Leisureland, next to the Venus (…) shopping mall fearures a ferris wheel and various arcade-style attractions. This is not your typical Taito station. Even though the venue contains many traditional arcade machines, there’s plenty of “active” activities including fishing (with live fish!), batting, soccer, basketball, golf and pong. Skip the ferris wheel and get your ¥100 ready to enjoy what Leisureland has to offer.