Tokyo Travels - Part 3

Odaiba
This man-made island (I have no idea how it would be created!) can be accessed via a driverless train which is an experience in itself. Spending 1 day on this island, there isn't a great deal to see in terms of people, but there are a number of museums to visit and interesting buildings to see, so I had no trouble filling the whole day.

View from the driverless train

Toyota Showcase/Ferris Wheel
There are driverless cars that can take you on a tour of the Toyota showcase, however these were running but not open to the public on this particular day. Various activities such as a driver simulator and F1 reaction check would provide some entertainment for the kids, while being a pretty blatant ad for the car manufacturer. I tried the F1 reaction simulator which I failed miserably at, while at the computerized, hazardous weather driving simulator, the application of other games really didn't help me as I rammed into oncoming traffic. The ferris wheel provides a great view of the island, although the island is sparse of notable sights.

Tokyo Big Sight
An upside-down triangular structure houses Tokyo's exhibition halls used for conferences and large corporate gatherings. Other than a moderate view from the higher levels of the building there is merely open space within it. It wouldn't be out of place as a stronghold for an evil mastermind, but is something unique that wouldn't have a chance of being constructed at home.

Imagine trying to clean the corners inside!

Muscle Park
I regret spending so much time at this theme park which takes a floor of a department complex, however some of the attractions were fun to try and watch, and I have a new respect for baseball pitchers (Although it won't encourage me to watch the sport). Activities included soccer, baseball challenges, numeric and reaction activities. The main attraction consisted of multiple strength based challenges, not unlike something off a game show, complete with enthusiastic commentary from staff.

Museum of Martime Science
Showing models of ships throughout history, there are some excellent displays. Interactive, they explained some of the more simple points for land lubbers and the English audio guide was a must due to the signage being in Japanese. During the audio tour, it mentioned that some of the exhibits were first created before the actual museum exterior due to their size. The museum exterior is in the shape of a ship, complete with an upper deck and an small pool to drive remote controlled boats.

The Maritime Museum... A ship built around the museum

Massive model ships. Japan has great models in their museums

View from the top deck of the museum

National Museum of Emerging Technologies

Unfortunately due to the time spent at Muscle Park and the Maritime museum, I wasn't able to explore this museum thoroughly. Although a with space capsule, deep sea diving ship replicas alongside robotic and proton exhibits, an entire day could be spent here. Staff are more than willing to explain and field questions which were required due to the year 10 level of science of this visitor.

Odaiba Food
With quite an appetite after a full day of walking, a dinner overlooking the Rainbow Bridge capped off a great day. I've blogged about this already here, while brunch is detailed here.

A landmark out of place?

To be continued...