| I returned to Ginza from Saitama around 15:30, and quickly
checked into my room. Since I hadn't had lunch yet, I dropped
off my luggage and headed straight to the FamilyMart across the
street to grab a fried chicken fillet. After that, I stopped by
the hotel's restaurant for a complimentary drink to quickly fill
up. I'll write more about the hotel in another article. When I
took the NEW SHUTTLE to Ômiya, Todd had already landed at Narita
Airport, arriving earlier than expected. Normally, he should've
reached the hotel sooner, but... |
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| I had told Todd beforehand to take the Keisei Electric
Railway (京成電鉄) 'Access Express at the orange platform' heading
towards Nishi-Magome (西馬込), so he wouldn't need to change trains
to get to Higashi-Ginza station. A station staff member had also
shown him the correct platform, and after confirming via LINE
that he was on the train towards Nishi-Magome, I thought
everything was fine. However, he later mentioned passing through
Shizu (志津) and Katsutadai (勝田台), which sounded off. It turns out
he somehow ended up on the Narita Main Line (another longer
route – I still can't figure out how that happened!) and even
took the rapid train, which would've still gotten him to
Higashi-Ginza, just a bit later than planned. |
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Fried chicken fillet and sausage from
FamilyMart, and free matcha latte from hotel |
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| Once Todd had settled in, we headed out to our next
destination –
Odaiba (お台場). On the way to Shimbashi station, Todd
needed to pop into Don Quijote (Donki) to find a tattoo cover,
as his small tattoo would prevent him from using the hot
springs. Unfortunately, when we asked the first staff member,
they said they didn't sell them, so we left. |
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| The automated train connecting Shimbashi, Odaiba, and Toyosu
(豊洲) is officially known as the 'Tokyo Waterfront New Transit
Waterfront Line', but to avoid confusion with another
JR-connected line, it's generally called the 'Yurikamome'
(literally 'Seagull'). I first learned about this line back in
high school when a TV programme in Hong Kong was discussing the
idea of building a second financial district outside Central,
using Shiodome – which the Yurikamome passes through – as an
examples. |
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| Like the NEW SHUTTLE I took earlier in Saitama today, the
Yurikamome is a medium-capacity People Mover system. However,
unlike the NEW SHUTTLE, which still has manually driven trains
(even automated train operation (ATO) system have already
installed), the Yurikamome operates fully autonomously. The ride
takes about 15 minutes from Shimbashi to Odaiba Kaihin Kôen (Odaiba
Marine Park), passing through 5 stations. After crossing
Shibaura Fotô (芝浦ふ頭) station, the train enters a circular ramp
and climbs up the Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba Kaihin Kôen. |
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| 'Daiba' means 'fortress', and today it refers to the
reclaimed land near the original site of the Shinagawa Daiba
(品川臺場, Shinagawa Fortress) in Tokyo Bay. The Shinagawa Daiba was
quickly constructed by the Tokugawa Shogunate to defend against
the Perry Expedition from America, but the Americans didn't fire
a single shot, and the Shogunate quickly signed the Convention
of Kanagawa (神奈川条約), rendering the fort unnecessary. I'll delve
more into the Perry Expedition in my article when I visit Shimoda (下田). As the Shinagawa Daiba is closely linked to the
Tokugawa Shogunate, it's often referred to as 'Odaiba' ('o'
being an honourific prefix). |
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Yurikamome train, later taken in Toyosu; it's
hard to capture the train's image at the stations, as they all
have fixed, full-height platform screen doors. |
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| Before we set off, I had already booked our dinner at 'Daigo'
(醍醐), a premium Wagyu yakiniku restaurant on the 6/F of DECKS
Tokyo Beach. In Japan, I tend to use
Tabelog to
find restaurants, which is similar to Hong Kong's OpenRice but
with much more reliable ratings and reviews. Since moving to the
UK, it's been harder to find Japanese and Korean yakiniku, so I
was looking forward to indulging while in Japan. |
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| With some time to spare at DECKS, we went to browsed DAISO
(like Poundland in the UK) and Matsumoto Kiyoshi (like Boots in
the UK). Whether in Hong Kong or Japan, I always enjoy shopping
at DAISO. Todd also wanted to check if Matsumoto Kiyoshi had
tattoo covers, but sadly, they didn't. We arrived at Daigo at
19:00, but the staff to inform us that our reservation was for
19:30 and the previous customers hadn't finished yet, so we had
to wait. I checked the email, and it turned out that we'd
initially booked for 19:30 but later changed it to 19:00. The
final confirmation email had confirmed the 19:00 time, so I
didn't argue. |
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| The main draw of Daigo isn't just the food but the
incredible view. Dining while looking out at the Rainbow Bridge
and grilling meat was an experience that satisfied both the eyes
and the taste buds – a real treat. I'd specifically requested a
window seat when making the reservation, but of course, the
restaurant could only do its best, given the limited number of
such seats. The food was great, with fresh meat that didn't come
out frozen and tough like in Hong Kong. Ordering is done via a
tablet at the table, with interfaces in Japanese, English,
Chinese (Simplified), and Korean. |
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| As for the pricing, there are set menus ranging from
JP¥6,500 to 9,500. There's also an all-you-can-eat option for
JP¥6,500, though it doesn't include the premium ingredients. For
drinks, there are two all-you-can-drink options: JP¥400 for soft
drinks and JP¥1,500 for alcoholic ones. I opted not for a set
menu but instead ordered à la carte and added the soft drinks
all-you-can-drink option. In the end, we spent JP¥6,106 per
person, which didn't leave us overly stuffed, especially since
the hotel offers free late-night noodle soup, so we didn't feel
the need to overeat. |
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The grill, long since missed |
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Kimchi (JP¥480, chili pickled Chinese leaf) |
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Chilled cucumber salad (JP¥480) |
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7 Types of Yakiniku Platter (JP¥4,960) |
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Beef tongue platter (JP¥2,480) |
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Beef diaphragm (JP¥1,480) |
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| The area around the Yurikamome Daiba and Odaiba Kaihin Kôen
stations is the liveliest part of Odaiba, with the Fuji TV
Building (富士テレビ) as its most iconic landmark. Nearby are several
shopping centres, including DiverCity, AQUA CiTY, and DECKS
Tokyo Beach, as well as the famous life-size Gundam statue. This
area has become a modern tourist hotspot for international
visitors, but have you ever wondered what it was like here a few
decades ago? |
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| The artificial island where Daiba station is located was
built in 1979 and was originally known as 'Tokyo Bay Reclamation
No.13'. It was a landfill site, but it wasn't used for waste
dumping directly. Instead, it was filled with residues and ash
from incineration, which were then detoxified. |
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| After dinner, we made our way to
Odaiba Marine Park (お台場海浜公園), which offers the best view
of the Rainbow Bridge (レインボーブリッジ). The name 'Rainbow Bridge' was
chosen through a public competition, although its official name
is 'Tôkyôkô Renrakukyô' (東京港連絡橋), which translates as the Tokyo
Port Connection Bridge. The upper level serves as a toll section
of the Shuto Expressway Route 11, while the central lower part
accommodates the Yurikamome Line, with general roads and
pedestrian paths on either side. |
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| Aside from the Rainbow Bridge, one of the most famous sight
in Odaiba Marine Park is the replica of the Statue of Liberty.
Some claim that the Japanese built their own Statue of Liberty
because they admire the US, but in reality, the statue in Odaiba
is a symbol of the friendship between Japan and France, not
Japan and the US! From April 1998 to May 1999, France
temporarily moved its Statue of Liberty from the Seine River in
Paris to Odaiba to celebrate the bond between the two nations.
It became incredibly popular, and in 2000, Paris agreed to
create a replica, which has been permanently displayed in Odaiba
ever since. |
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Odaiba landmark lightbox |
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The Rainbow Bridge as seen from Odaiba Marine
Park |
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| I occasionally build models in my spare time, and Gundam is
one of my most common choices. Honestly, I'm not particularly
passionate about Gundam, and my knowledge of the story is basic
at best. I mostly choose it because it looks cool. However,
since this was our first visit to Tokyo, we couldn't pass up the
chance to see
the Life-Size Unicorn Gundam Statue in Odaiba. From 19:00
to 21:30, there's a light show at the statue every half hour, at
both the hour and the half-hour mark. |
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| The original life-size Gundam statue dates back to 2009,
built to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Gundam, with a
limited-time exhibition that lasted just 52 days at Odaiba's
Shiokaze Park (潮風公園), the site of the original display. It was
then relocated to Shizuoka (靜岡) for an exhibition from 2010 to
2011. In 2012, the original Gundam (model RX-78-2) was
re-erected in front of DiverCity (the current location) for a
long-term display, which ended in March 2017. In September of
the same year, the Unicorn Gundam replaced it, and that's the
version currently on display. |
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| After visiting, most of the mall shops had closed, so we
decided to take the Yurikamome back to the hotel. Todd wasn't
quite ready to give up on finding the tattoo cover, so we
stopped by Donki in Ginza again. This time, we asked another
staff member, who pointed to the 'colour con' section. Todd
walked around but still couldn't find them, until I spotted them
in a less obvious corner near the 'colour con' section.
Congratulations to Todd – he'll be able to enjoy the hot springs
tonight! |
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