Day 8 (Monday): Odaiba

Today I planned to spend the entire day exploring Odaiba, the futuristic manmade island. I took the Ginza line to Shimbashi Station and it took a little bit to find the transfer to the Yurikamone Line. It is actually located above ground so if you follow the signs and still can't find it, just know you probably have to head upwards up a flight of stairs. The subway on the Yurikamone Line is completely automated so there are no operators driving it. The line is well-elevated above ground so it's nice and scenic and gives you a good view of Tokyo, the river and the Rainbow Bridge. As most of the island's attractions are at the front of the island, you get to see many of them on approach. My first stop on the island was going to be the Miraikan which is towards the back of the island so I passed many of the sights I planned to visit on the way in. There is a subtle amusement park like vibe at the entertainment part of the island (towards the front) as there is a large Ferris wheel and other activities (such as arcades) and Western-style malls and stores to shop and hang out at. Odaiba attracts a more youthful audience.

The Miraikan is the National Museum of Emerging Science and it's a very cool museum, if you are into Science Centers. It's in a lovely glass building and looks awesome from the outside and inside.

The Miraikan has a planetarium called Gaia which screens a couple of different movies several times a day. It is a good idea to go early and get your ticket to the planetarium as soon as you get there in case they sell out. They have an English translation device that you can get also.

The museum goers consisted of school classes(mostly elementary I would guess) and families with their children. These kids were working on a large painting.

I think I spent atleast a couple of hours looking at all the exhibits which ranged from environment, space, Earth, health, etc. They had replica space capsules that you could enter and see how astronauts eat and sleep. They have this cool suspended Earth globe called the Geo-Cosmos that cycles and displays various patterns of the Earth such as temperatures and climates. There is a winding staircase that goes around the Geo-Cosmos allowing you to get a good look of it while going up to the 2nd floor.

They had Asimo locked away behind a plexiglass window like Hannibal Lecter. I was surprised to see how short he was in person.

He would acknowledge your movements by nodding his head or waving back sometimes. Some of the tiny kids got freaked out when they saw him and ran to their parents. The museum had many exhibits on modern and future medicines and procedures such as virtual surgery simulators where you could test your operating skills on someone miles away by remote controlling robot arms at the surgery site.

I was starving at this point (I had wondered if I should hold off eating until my next stop which I wish I had in hindsight) so I went upstairs in the museum where the restaurants were. It turns out I wish I hadn't gotten anything because the food was blah. I ordered rice and a beef cutlet in gravy at the "Basara" restaurant. Atleast I had something in my stomach and it gave me a chance to rest.
I left the museum and walked to Megaweb which is the home of the largest Toyota Showroom. It's like a carshow but just for Toyota's. There were many models on display, mainly the Crown line, that are not to be found in North America. In addition to the current cars, they had a section for concepts, interactive displays, and a museum of older cars.

They had this fun theatre/ride where you get strapped in as if you are in a race car while showing you a driver POV on the big screen. It wasn't actual footage but powered by Gran Turismo 4 and you do a couple of laps. The seats vibrate and tilt to match the motions of the car on screen. There is also an automated car ride that takes you through the inside and outside of the entire Megaweb complex. You get in a very small Toyota and just sit back and the car actually drives and turns the steering wheel all on its own. There are no tracks or anything that the car runs on so it must be all programmed to the tee or uses sensors located underneath.

Afterwards, I ventured towards the direction of the Rainbow Bridge and towards the waterfront shopping centers of Aqua City and Decks Tokyo Beach.

If I didn't regret eating at the Miraikan Museum already, I regretted it even more so as there were many restaurants of all different varieties to choose from in Aqua and Decks. I found this is where a lot of the "Western" stores were such as Tommy, Gap, Nautica and so forth. There was also a mini KiddyLand.

After looking around, I headed to the waterfront boardwalk. There are several benches to sit and chill and that's what I ended up doing for a long while. I strolled along the boardwalk, stopping at the replica Statue of Liberty to take a few pictures and found a bench on the "sand" beach to chill.

I sat and listened to my iPod, while gazing out at the waters and the Rainbow Bridge in the distance while dusk and darkness gradually set in.

Odaiba is very much a hotspot to hang with your bf or gf. During the whole trip, I never once thought about how I wish I had been on the trip with someone else. I was glad to be independent and going where ever I wanted to go. So if I ever did feel alone on my trip, it was here because I saw many couples (probably in their teens to late 20's) having a good time.

I headed back into Aqua City and looked at my options for dinner. The mall seemed very Westernized and targeted for a younger crowd with the types of stores and restaurants that were there. It was definitely a different vibe and atmosphere compared with the posh department stores of Ginza I had visited earlier. I decided to go to this burger joint called Kua'aina which was decked out in a Hawaii decor. The cashiers were wearing really colourful green Hawaiian shirts which were kawaii. I wasn't sure if what I was ordering came with a side so I ordered a combo plus a side of onion rings. It turns out my combo did come with fries so I had two sides to consume. I sat facing the window so that I could see the Rainbow Bridge and wondered where the pedestrian walkway was to go over the bridge as I had planned to walk across the bridge on my way back instead of taking the subway. I wasn't sure if it was along the top where the cars travelled or if it was underneath.

After barely finishing my meal, I headed towards the start of the Rainbow Bridge. It was quite a long walk from Aqua City and it took me down the residential neighbourhood of Odaiba. You forget that people actually live on this island also. It was dark and quiet with not too many people around. When I got to the entrance of the bridge, I found that it closes at 5:30PM. I let out a huge sigh of disappointment after walking all that way to get to the start of the bridge. I had no choice but to walk back from the direction I came. I didn't walk all the way back to Aqua City as there was a subway station closer by. I hopped on that and headed home to Ginza.