Thursday, May 21, 2015

Odaiba! It's more than the Giant Gundam Robot!


Features: 
1. Palette Town, an amusement center consisting of VenusFort shopping mall (part of which has outlet shops), Mega Web (has the Toyota Museum and showcase center, and Tokyo Leisure land an indoor amusement center  with a kick ass Ferris Wheel.

2. A beach with a mini Statue of Liberty

3. 3 Malls: Aqua City, Diver City and DECKS Tokyo beach ( Has a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and Legoland Discovery Center)

4. Fuji TV Headquarters

5. Ooedo Onsen Monogatari: a Traditional Japanese bathhouse

6. The 2 storey Gundam Robot!

Damage: Free (unless you try out the museums, bath house and the Ferris Wheel)

How to got there: Go to Shimbashi Station and take the Yurikamome Line ~ 460 Yen, or you can walk the Rainbow Bridge from Tamachi Station around  1 1/2 hrs.

If you're a foreigner like me, you probably want to go to Odaiba because of the huge Gundam Robot. I mean, who doesn't want to take a selfie with a huge robot right?! But I tell you, there is so much more to Odaiba than the robot!

Recommended: If you have a lot of time in Tokyo. If you want to sunbathe in a beach, looking for alternatives to the Tokyo Shopping Scene, try out a traditional bath house, check out the Gundam Robot, then try Odaiba! 


 Photo courtesy of the Official Tokyo Tourism Guide

If you plan to walk, just remember to follow the rainbow bridge and you wont get lost. You can actually see it from afar.

Once, you get to the start of the bridge, there's a building with an elevator going to the walking path on the side of the bridge.

On top of the bridge, you would see a port and a stunning seaside view of Tokyo

You couls also see the Fuji TV headquarters

The beach is quite nice. There are a few people sunbathing and doing paddle boarding.The sand is brown and fine.


If you want to immediately see the giant robot, go straight to the back of Diver city mall and be amaze! Actually, up close the robot looks like airplane parts that was built into a robot. At some days' it actually moves!

Yes, you can walk between the legs. But do mind your time beneath it because a lot of people would want to walk there too. 

Go to Palette Town and check out this car museum made by Toyota. The best thing about it is it's absolutely FREE!!!




The Toyota Showroom




 Outside, you can see the Ferris Wheel

The Venus Mall has a stunning Atrium. This mall has a lot of luxury brands and has a section of outlet shops. Some of which are luxury brands

Tokyo Big Sight international Exhibition Center

There was a slush convention when I visited this place

Hope this convince you to explore Odaiba!

How to get from Haneda airport to Tokyo by Train


Here’s a step by step process on how to travel from Haneda Airport to Tokyo Central. But first of all, why choose Haneda Airport vs Narita airport. Well, you have no choice. Some airlines go to Haneda and some go to Narita. Haneda is much better because first, it’s much nearer to Tokyo ( 30 mins vs 1 - 1 1/2 hrs ETA depends on train use) and second, because of the distance, Narita train fares going to Tokyo is much more expensive ( Narita express ~ 3000 yen, Rapid train 1300 yen vs ~600 yen via monorail)

Once you have landed. Go to Immigration and register.  


Go to the terminal docks and get your luggage. If you have anything to declare go to the left most side to declare any live animals, illegal drugs and weapons of mass destruction. Even if you don’t declare. They have sniffing dogs that go around your for some suspicious cargo. 

Exit through the gates. Once you have done this go straight and you will find a sign saying monorail and a ticket station. There are two maps on top of the ticketing machine. One in English and the other in Japanese. Note the place of where you are going and remember the corresponding number with that station for this will be the amount that you will b paying in the ticketing machine. For example, my stop is in Tamachi station and the number corresponding to it is 630. That’s 630 yen that I will have to pay.
 

Find the monorail ticket machine to get your ticket


Check the board above to check what station you wish to go









 The entrance to the monorail is just beside the ticket machine

Go to the right and you'll find an elevator going to the platform






View of Haneda airport from the monorail
 
 You can check the station which station you are approaching by the lighted sign on top of the door. Hamamatsucho is the last station on the monorail.

You know you're in the JR station when you see large tracks of train

Get down the monorail for transfer to a JR line

Go down the elevator to the Central exit

 Follow the sign saying to JR line

Put in your ticket and remember to get it at the other end

Find your platform by the green signs which indicate the Yamanote line. Line 2 means it's going east to Tokyo

Yamanote line 3 means it's going west to Shibuya

This is the platform we're you will wait for your train. The Yamanote line is above ground which means you have a scenic view of Tokyo while moving from station to station

That’s it! Hope you have a great day in Tokyo!!!