Odaiba (2005-04-09)
Odaiba (
) is a vast area comprising of hotels, shopping
complexes, high rise residential buildings, museums and parks built
entirely on reclaimed land. There is even a small stretch of
sandy beach along the bay which is also man made.The two most eye-catching landmarks in Odaiba must be the
two-storied
Rainbow Bridge and Fuji TV's building which features a giant sphere in
the middle of the structure. Venusfort, a posh shopping center
with 18th century European architecture and decoration, is also
well-known among Japanese and tourists. It is easily accessible
by the monorail that runs through the Odaiba complex.
Speaking of the monorail, which is called the New Transit Yurikamome
line, it generated quite an excitement when it first went into
operation nearly a decade ago because the train is completely automated
with no drivers. In addition to the innovative driverless train,
the Yurikamome line's platform is one of the very very few platforms
in Tokyo that is built with safety double doors that do not open unless
a train docks on the track. (In a society where most people
choose to commit suicide by jumping onto coming trains, the safety
doors are quite a necessity.)
If you like shopping, you will have a busy time browsing all those
shops in Odaiba. Or you can just do what many young Japanese
couples do: take a stroll on the boardwalk or the beach, sit by the
water and watch the sunset, eat in the many good restaurants, or even
have a soak in the hot spring public bath house there.
Note: You can change to Yurikamome line from Shimbashi (
) Station on the
subway Ginza (
) Line.
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