Odaiba, Japan

Odaiba (お台場^?) is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. It was initially built for defensive purposes in the 1850s, dramatically expanded during the late 20th century as a seaport district, and has developed since the 1990s as a major commercial, residential and leisure area. We highly recommend Odaiba as a place to visit when the sun is shining and you have all day to roam.

Here a few guys dressed as huge Elvis fans twisted and sang out on the promenade. You can see Tokyo in the distance

We few weeks ago we took the subway train to  Shibaura-futō Station and walked across the rainbow bridge. It was a nice 30 minute walk or so, adding time of course for Adam to take pictures. (Take the North walkway, it had a really nice view of Tokyo Tower and the city.


we walked around Odaiba, and saw the seashore which was really nice. There was a ton of shopping and restaurants. Toyota has an open showroom where you can see a lot of the latest models of cars. 


This is a good link to read more about Odaiba and what there is to see. 


If you have a whole day to spend there, I recommend picking up the day train pass at any of the JR Yurikamome  stops. I can't remember how much it is, but the train (like a monorail) runs all through Odaiba and that way you can get out and see all of the sights.


Here is a list of what you can see there taken from Japan's tourism site. 

Fuji TV Building Hours: 10:00 to 18:00 (some restaurants until 19:00) Closed: Mondays (or Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday). Admission: Free (observation deck: 500 yen) The headquarters of Fuji Television, one of Japan's private, nationwide TV stations. You can see some exhibits on popular programs, buy Fuji TV goods at a shop and access the futuristic looking building's observatory deck housed in the sphere shaped part of the building.

Decks Tokyo Beach Hours: 11:00 to 21:00 Restaurants: 11:00 to 20:00 (some restaurants until 24:00) Closed: No closing days Admission: Free (trick art museum: 900 yen) Decks is a shopping mall featuring various stores, boutiques, cafes and restaurants. The mall also houses the three story "Tokyo Joypolis" arcade (closed for renovation until mid July 2012) and a trick art museum. A Hong Kong themed food theme park and the Muscle Park were closed in 2010.

Aquacity Odaiba Hours: 11:00 to 21:00 Restaurants: 11:00 to 23:00 (some restaurants until 5:30) Closed: No closing days Aquacity is a shopping mall featuring various stores, boutiques, restaurants, cafes and a 13 screen cinema complex. The fifth floor houses a ramen food theme parkwhere you can try different ramen from all over Japan. There are nice views of the Rainbow Bridge from the wooden deck in front of Aquacity and neighboring Decks.

Rainbow Bridge The Rainbow Bridge connects Odaiba to the rest of Tokyo. The two story bridge is an iconic symbol of the bay and is especially beautiful during its nightly illumination. The bridge supports an expressway, a regular road, the Yurikamome train line and pedestrian walkways along both sides.

Telecom Center Area

Telecom Center Observation Deck: 15:00 to 21:00 (weekdays) 11:00 to 21:00 (weekends and national holidays) Closed: Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday) Admission: 500 yen (400 yen in combination with a Yurikamome day pass) The Telecom Center is a major hub on the information highway with several large satellite antennas on its observation deck. The observation deck also offers nice view of the bay area and as far as Mount Fuji on clear days.

Museum of Maritime Science Main building closed indefinitely for renewal, ships remain open Hours: 10:00 to 17:00 (weekends and holidays until 18:00) Closed: Mondays (or following Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday) December 28 to January 1 Admission: Free entry to ships during renovation This museum looks like a large cruise ship docked along the Odaiba waterfront. The main building with exhibits on the history and technology of ships and shipping is currently closed for renovation. Outside you can board two real ships that are on permanent display.

National Museum of Emerging Science Hours: 10:00 to 17:00 Closed: Tuesdays and December 28 to January 1 Admission: 600 yen Also known as the Miraikan, this well done, highly interactive and bilingual science museum includes exhibits about environmental issues, robots (starring Asimo among others), information technology, biology and space exploration.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari Open: 11:00am to 9:00am (last entry 7:00am) Closed: One evening per month for cleaning Admission: 2900 yen (2000 yen from 18:00 to 2:00, 1900 yen from 5:00). An additional 1700 yen overnight fee applies from 2:00 to 5:00. Opened in 2003, Oedo Onsen is a hot spring theme park which reproduces the atmosphere of the Edo Period. Here you can enjoy various types of indoor and outdoor baths which are fed by hot spring water pumped from a depth of 1400 meters. Restaurants, massage, games and other entertainment, as well as overnight stays are available.

Palette Town
Palette Town is a large shopping and entertainment complex consisting of the Venus Fort shopping mall, Toyota Mega Web, a Ferris Wheel, the Zepp Tokyo music venue and Tokyo Leisureland.

Venus Fort Hours: 11:00 to 21:00 Restaurants: 11:00 to 23:00 Closed: No closing days Admission: Free Venus Fort is a shopping mall in the style of a 18th century South European town. The mall features over a hundred shops, fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants on three floors including a few outlets shops on the upper floor.

Toyota Mega Web Hours: 11:00 to 21:00 (some attractions end 1-3 hours earlier) Closed: Small number of irregular closing days Admission: Free (test rides: 300 yen) Mega Web is a giant Toyota showroom that shows off all of Toyota's latest models, car accessories and technologies. Attractions include test driving of cars (requires driving license valid for Japan) and a museum exhibiting cars from past decades.

Ferris Wheel Hours: 10:00 to 22:00 (until 23:00 on most Fridays, Saturdays) Closed: No closing days Admission: 900 yen (entire cabin: 3000 yen) This 115 meter tall ferris wheel is one of the world's largest and offers nice views of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba below. Each cabin seats six (or four in the all-glass cabins), and the complete revolution takes about 15 minutes.

Leisureland Hours: 10:00 to 23:50 (some parts open 24 hours) Closed: No closing days Admission: Free (attractions are paid) This huge entertainment complex features a large game arcade, bowling alleys, slots, batting cages, karaoke, darts, table tennis and sports games. There is also a ninja illusion house, a haunted house and food court.

Big Sight Area

Tokyo Big Sight Hours and admission fees depend on the specific events. Also known as Tokyo International Exhibition Center, Tokyo Big Sight is Japan's largest exhibition and convention center and one of the bay islands' boldest architectural creations. A wide array of events are held at the Big Sight throughout the year including the Tokyo International Anime Fair, the Comiket comic fair and the Tokyo Motor Show.

Panasonic Center Hours: 10:00 to 18:00 (entry to Risupia until 17:00) Closed: Mondays (or Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday) Admission: Free (Risupia: 500 yen) The Panasonic Center is a showroom for the latest products and technologies by the Panasonic Corporation. On display are the newest cameras, TVs, computers, Nintendo games, home appliances and more. The third floor is Risupia, a hands-on math and science museum.