Odaiba is an entertainment zone in Tokyo on a man made island in the bay. It's most notable feature is the erector set looking building that houses Fuji Television, but there is a lot more to the island than that.
For example, there's a Taco Bell! And it serves beer too!
Actually all of the Taco Bell's in Japan do.
But seriously, there is a lot to do in Odaiba. There are several malls, a giant ferris wheel, a beach, science museums, cruise terminals, dinning for every type of person, a life sized Gundam and a Statue of Liberty replica! Let's start the tour there.
The Statue of Liberty is a scaled down 1/7 replica of the original in New York City. Odaiba's statue is actually a replica of one that was given to Japan by France in 1998. Japan returned it in 1999 then had this one built because of it's popularity at this spot.
The statue is about 40 feet tall and It sits just above the Marine Park beach across the street from the Aqua City Mall, Taco Bell mall.
This part of Odaiba offers not only nice beaches to stroll down, but beautiful views of Tokyo & the Rainbow Bridge. You can dip your feet in the water or just appreciate the views of the city across the bay.
If you look closely you can see Mt. Fuji in between these buildings.
Odaiba feels a bit alien to the rest of Japan. Everything there is more spread out like an American city. While this can be nice if you are looking for open spaces, it takes time to walk around to see the different sites. For reference here is a partial map of Odaiba with the Statue of Liberty center left.
The island is so large that the monorail that traverses it has 5 stations.
Speaking of trains, there are two trains that go to Odaiba, the Rinkai line and the Yurikamome monorail. From Shinjuku station the Rinkai line is the fastest and cheapest route at 37 minutes for $5.10. The Yurikamome line requires 2 transfers to get to from Shinjuku and will cost $5.70, but the Yurikamome line takes you across the Rainbow Bridge so I recommend using it at least one way. The views from the Yurikamone line are much nicer.
Getting back to sight seeing, The Fuji Television building is a weird looking building, but I guess iconic?
The large dome atop of it is actually an observation deck on the 25th floor. It's open to the public, but there is a fee of $7.00 to go up to it. If you are visiting it's probably worth it, but since I can go anytime I decided to skip it this time.
FujiTV is one of the big 3 channels in Tokyo. I don't watch FujiTV much, but my wife and I do enjoy one of their programs, Dokiri Grand Prix. It a prank show for comedians that can be pretty hilarious. https://www.fujitv.co.jp/dokkirigp/?_ga=2.219077087.717259143.1650427729-970493941.1650427729
Moving on, the walk way from the Statue of Liberty, past Fuji TV is an abnormally wide promenade above ground level.
Far off in the distance is the unique looking Telecom office building. But let's get to the main attraction, the Unicorn Gundam!
(source - Google Earth)
Gundam is one of the most famous Sci-fi anime & manga series in Japan. For some reason I never got into Gundam, I was a Macross/Robotech kid. But for millions of people around the world it is the definitive Sci-fi anime & manga.
The statue is a life sized version of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. Even so, it is kind of hidden behind the Driver City Mall. Coming from the Statue of Liberty you can't see it until you get past the mall.
The structure is quite impressive in person. Apparently portions of it move and perform cool light shows at night. Here is a video of that on youtube.
I half expected it to greet me in some way or engage in some epic battle with an enemy nearby. Instead it just stood there in silence. Still It was something to behold. The pinnacle of 80's "power armor" sci-fi.
The great thing about an attraction like this is it's free. Even if it wasn't I'm sure just as many people would flock to see it though. It's a one of a kind mecha in the entire world helping make Tokyo one of the greatest cities in the world.
If you want to learn more about the Unicorn Gundam the official website is here: https://www.unicorn-gundam-statue.jp/en/#about
There is much more to explore at Odaiba, but I had other things to do this day like heading over Tokyo Tower, which you can read about in the link below. If I am to go again I think I will visit just before sunset so I can catch both daylight Gundam and the night lights show.
Until next time, thanks for reading!
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#6 Odawara Castle @rt395/odawara-castle-japan-tokyo-travel
#5 Return To Tokyo Tower @rt395/return-to-tokyo-tower-tokyo
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#3 Inokashira Park @rt395/inokashira-park-in-kichijoji-tokyo
#2 Shibuya Sky @rt395/shibuya-sky-47-stories-above-tokyo-tokyo-travel-2
#1 Tokyo Tower @rt395/tokyo-travel-1-tokyo-tower-is-for-lovers
