Odaiba お台場
- (pronounced "Oh - Die-bah") Odaiba's a man made island that went through
a radical reconstruction in the 90s to become "Tokyo Teleport Town", a showcase for futuristic living. One of its many
highlights is Rainbow Bridge (below):
Sega Joypolis
- It doesn't get more japanese than this. Video arcades, rides and typical japanese scare attractions make up
this six story indoor theme park. Below are some of the highlights:
Halfpipe Canyon
- It's a snowboarding game to the extreme. Hop on a tracked snowboard (with a buddy if you feel like
it) and fly up a halfpipe two stories in the air while working with your partner to simultaneously "kick" the board and trigger
a 360degree trick at the top of the pipe. They say it's not so easy to do the trick but it's gotta be fun just riding
up and down the track anyway, right? See the video below:
Burnout Running
- You thought that Wii Fit was the first time the Japanese attempted workout with video
game? nah. Along with games like Dance Dance Revolution they invented games like Burnout Running where you run
on a treadmill to "race" in the Olympics. Hit the button to jump hurdles. See the video below:
Initial D - The "D" stands for drift. This video game mimics the popular anime series but
at Sega Joypolis you get the opportunity to sit in the actual cars in the anime (well ok, the real life cars that the animators
chose to use in their segments) . Anyway, a real car on a track that you get to "drift" in...pretty great. See the video
below:
Hours: 10:00a - 10:00p (Last Entry 9:15p) Note : opening
hours may be changed due to maintenance and safety inspections.
Ticket Adult (18 years and over)
Admission 800 yen (w/ tax)
Passport 4,500 yen (w/ tax) Night Passport 3,500 yen (w/ tax) (after 5:00p M-F, after 4:00p Sa-Su)*Top Recommendation
Late Night Passport 3,000 yen (w/ tax) (after 8:00p (but closes at 10:00p)
Child (7 to 17 years)
Admission 500 yen (w/ tax)
Passport 3,500 yen (w/ tax)
Night Passport 2,500 yen (after 5:00p M-F, after 4:00p Sa-Su) Late Night Passport 2,000 yen (w/ tax) (after 8:00p (but closes at 10:00p)
For even more info, please click here for Sega Joypolis' official
site:
Palette Town
- Palette Town is a three story amusement center that's clearly marked by its greatest attraction the 377 foot (about 35 stories)
high Ferris Wheel called Daikanransha (big ferris wheel).
Daikanransha
- Listen to easy going J-pop music while you float for 15 minutes above Tokyo, it's fairly relaxing and not
very scary.
Operating daily from 10:00 to 22:00 (until 24:00 on Fridays,
Saturdays, and days preceding holidays during the spring and summer season. Admission: 900 Yen.
MegaWeb - This Toyota showroom offers you the opportunity to test-drive
any Toyota in current production on a 2 mile track, you can also test ride (?) their electric car on the indoor
track (see video below, the car drives itself) and they have a special hybrid/pedal car for kids to test too.
Below please see a YouTube video of the electric car in action
Fuji Television Building- This architecturally cool building in
Obaiba has areas open to the public for touring.
For English speakers, the 5th floor
Studio Promenade displays sets, items, and props from Fuji Television’s popular programs where visitors can take pictures.
The 25th floor Sphere Observation Deck features a virtual reality set where one can experience what it is like to be a newscaster
for a Fuji Television program, as well as see a spectacular 270-degree panoramic view of Tokyo!
If you can understand Japanese or fake it well enough you can
get a tour of the studio, see pic below:
Recommendation: It's not
much more than a cool building with an observation deck and a few props that you might or might not recognize, it's
probably not worth spending a whole lot of time there. That being said the photo opportunities are pretty amazing and
if you want to impress your friends with space age photos (and videos) like the ones below than you should at least swing
by and check it out.
Admission: 500 yen for adults 300 yen for children.
Tickets can be purchased at the 7th floor ticket booth.
Getting to Odaiba
Probably
the easiest way to get there is to take the Yamanote Line to Osaki station and from there transfer to the Rinkai
Line
Cost
¥320 from Osaki to Odaiba
Time:
10 minutes
There are two scenic routes
to Odaiba, you can take the Tokyo Metro Ginza line to either Shimbashi (to take the Yurikamome "monorail" over Rainbow
Bridge) or Asakusa (to take the futuristic water taxi Himiko).
Yurikamome Monorail
Cost ¥300 from
Shimbashi to Odaiba-kaihinkoen station
Himiko Water Taxi
- Please see the pictures below, this cool water taxi takes you from Asakusa (a tourist site in its own right,
please see historic places) to Odaiba in style. There are many water taxi's to Odaiba from Asakusa so please ask for
"Himiko" (pronounced Hee-mee-koh) You'd say "Hee-mee-koh Oh-nay-guy Shee-moss" (romanji: Himiko onegai shimasu")
