Japan 2013 Tokyo Day 8: Odaiba

by - 11/19/2013

Japan has two Disney theme parks: Tokyo Disneyland, and Tokyo DisneySea. DisneySea is completely unique and does not exist anywhere else in the world. So, since me and Kevin had both already been to Disneyland at some point in our lives, we decided to go to DisneySea. So why I am talking about Disney when this post is clearly labeled Odaiba? Let me explain. 

So we go to Shibuya station to head over to DisneySea. We make it through the gate, and before we entered the next one, we needed to show our JR passes. Kevin was in charge of the passes and kept them in his bag. So he grabs mine, but he can't find his. Somewhere between the entrance and where we were, his JR pass was lost. Being that we are from America, our first thought is that someone has picked it up and is using it and we are never going to see it again. But we weren't going to let this dampen our spirits. We weren't going to focus on how much money we just lost (about $400.00 for one pass). We were going to have fun in DisneySea, dammit! 

While we were waiting on the platform, I noticed that my feet were feeling a little funny. So I looked down at my shoe, and the sole was completely cracked. It was falling apart. How am I going to go walk around DisneySea all day in shoes like this? So we decided to go back to the hotel. Halfway there, my other shoe broke! And I had no other shoes, because all I had was a carry on since the luggage was coming from Osaka. I was upset, and I pouted in the room. I was mostly upset that I was going to be stuck in my hotel room all day. Kevin called the JR Pass people in the meantime, and they said that if someone turned it in, they would let us know. We knew there was no way in hell anyone would turn that in, and we had no hope in humanity. 

We also decided to check if our luggage had arrived, and luckily it had! I was able to put on different shoes, so the day wasn't a total loss. Before we were about to leave to Odaiba, where we decided to spend the rest of the day, the phone rang. Kevin and I looked at each other skeptically before he picked up the phone. Praise the Lord, some good Samaritan had turned in Kevin's JR Pass! We picked it up at the station on our way to Odaiba. Where else in the world would someone turn in something like a free rail pass? Certainly not in America. We were even more impressed with the Japanese people. On the way, I stopped for a picture with Hachiko:


On the platform, I snapped a picture of this in the vending machine. This is soup. Corn soup, and I think a beef consumé? It was strange, but even stranger is that I did not try it. And I am all about the weird foods. 


Odaiba is right by Tokyo bay, overlooking Rainbow Bridge. There are many different things in Odaiba, like different shopping complexes that have familiar things like Old Navy, American Eagle, Forever 21, H&M, etc. We popped into one of the complexes and got some donuts from Krispy Kreme. They had these adorable Christmas donuts, and of course I had to have one.


After our donuts, we went to find the famous Gundam. We knew that he wouldn't be hard to find because, well, he was huge. You cant really tell at first glance, but I am standing at the bottom of the Gundam.


Kevin is standing at the bottom in this picture. He is 6' 2".


It's a 1:1 scale replica.



Next to the Gundam was a Gundam café, which was pretty cool. I don't know anything about Gundams, so we didn't go into the cafe. We decided to check out Sega Joypolis instead, and let me tell you, it is a riot in there. It's like a combination arcade/amusement park. If you like games and rides, or even just games, this is the place for you.


So, Kevin is very into Initial D. He has been since ever since. He was stoked to just find it in an arcade while we were in Japan, but then, we saw this:


This is an Initial D game. Except you get into an actual car, and actually drive it. There is a large screen in front of you, and the car even has room for a passenger! Kevin almost fainted, and ran to put credits on his card. Turns out he didn't need to, all the rides/games were free when we bought our tickets. So off he went to drive the car, and he was on cloud nine. It was really funny.


There was an interactive section with these tables that you could touch, and make things happen.  It's hard to explain. There were also large screens that had manatees swimming around on them, and you could put your own face on them as well. Kinda creepy.


Besides that, there was an actual roller coaster that ran through the building, and a skateboarding half-pipe ride as well. There was a section that had those flight simulator rides, and also a section that had haunted house type experiences. Kevin and I tried one that had to do with a creepy doll, and even though I don't understand much Japanese (Kevin understands none), it was terrifying. First, you had to walk down a dark, dark hallway. Then, you are greeted by a girl, who is dressed like a doll, who leads you to a dining room. This dining room is full of creepy dolls, and at the head of the table, is a life-sized doll. You wear headphones the whole time, and there are creepy effects like chains dragging, and breath on the back of your neck. So creepy.

Here's a video of some of the attractions that are at Sega Joypolis:


On a side note, Japanese public bathrooms are interesting. Instead of an ass napkin, you get this. You take toilet paper, and put this disinfecting spray on it. Interesting. There's also a seat for your child while you do your business!


Used it for my purse instead of my non-existent kid.
There was also a portion of the place that had carnival games, and of course claw machine games. Kevin almost got really lucky.


We popped into a nearby Capcom store when we were done, but didn't end up buying anything.


We were hungry by the time we were done in Sega Joypolis, so we popped into yet another shopping complex and got some dinner. In the food court, there were actually sinks (and child sized sinks!) I think this is a great idea and should be implemented in America and other countries.


I opted for bi bim bap, and it actually came in a hot stone bowl! Not bad for food court food.


We didn't make it to Venus Fort, where the giant ferris wheel was, but I did manage to snap a couple of nice pictures with the full moon.


Tips for Odaiba: 
  • If you go to Sega Joypolis, purchase the pass for $30.00. This will get you unlimited access for all the games and rides (except the carnival games, you only get one free game there, and it's not valid for the claw machines). 
  • Stay till night time to see the Gundam, as well as Rainbow Bridge, lit up.

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