Odaiba is an entertainment and shopping district which offers something for everyone (a small beach, restaurants, shopping malls, museums, and Tokyo’s most famous onsen). Walking around Odaiba today it would be easy to forget the history of the island. The monorail that whisks you over the bridge from the mainland, the shopping malls with decked-walkways, the immaculate beach front, and the miniature Statue of Liberty all give the area something of an artificial “Disneyland” feel.
Yakatabune docked in the bay off Odaiba Seaside Park
In fact, Odaiba was developed from fortress islands built under orders from the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the city from naval attack following the arrival of Commodore Perry’s black ships in Edo Bay in 1853 (daiba means fort or battery; o is an honorific prefix). Eleven fortress islands were originally planned, but only six were completed and none were used: with the signing of the Harris Treaty in 1858, Japan opened its ports to international trade and emerged from almost 250 years of isolationism.
Rainbow Bridge leading into Odaiba from central Tokyo
From the 1960s onwards four of the island forts were removed to improve shipping lanes or joined together by landfill to form the area we know today as Odaiba today. Just two remain: “Fortress 6”, which can be seen from Rainbow Bridge, and “Fortress 3”, which was opened to the public as Daiba Park in 1928.
Sightseeing
Odaiba Seaside Park
A narrow park with a beachfront onto Tokyo Bay. In the evenings you may be able to see yakatabune (lavish private boats from the Heian period) floating in the bay.
Directions. A short walk from Daiba Station on the Yurikamome Line. Google Maps
Statue of Liberty
Originally put up as a temporary installation in 1998 to celebrate the “French Year of Japan”, the replica of the statue of liberty in Île aux Cygnes, Paris, was so popular that a permanent 12-meter statue was installed in 2000.
Directions. 5 minutes from Daiba Station | Follow the wooden walkway from Odaiba Seaside Park. Google Maps
Daiba Park
Daiba Park might not be the most spectacular of green spaces, but it offers one of the best views of Odaiba from its slopes. It is one of the remaining island fortresses, and you can still see the artillery emplacements (the cannons can be found at Yasukuni Shrine).
Directions. 10-minute walk from Odaiba-Kaihinkoen Station on the Yurikamome Line. Google Maps
Oedo Onsen Monogatari
Tokyo’s most famous and popular onsen. While there are more traditional onsen near the capital, few have amusement arcades where you can throw ninja stars… See here for more details.
Shopping
Palette Town & VenusFort
An amusement complex that contains an indoor shopping street created in an 18th century European style (VenusFort) and one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels. See here for more details.
Decks Tokyo Beach
Another shopping complex on the beachfront. It includes Tokyo Joypolis (a Sega games arcade), Legoland Discovery Center, and Madam Tussauds.
- Directions. A short walk from Odaiba-Kaihinkoen Station on the Yurikamome Line. Google Maps
- Hours. Shops 11:00-21:00 / Restaurants 11:00-23:00
Aqua City Odaiba
A 6-floor shopping complex with about 80 stores and a “Gourmet Zone” food court.
- Directions. A short walk from Daiba Station on the Yurikamome Line. Google Maps
- Hours. 09:00-22:00
Museums
Housed in a building modeled on the Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner, the Museum of Maritime Science has five sections which trace the history of sea exploration. Outside you can see an ice-breaker ship and deep ocean submarines. Directions 3-1…
As its nickname suggests (mirai means future and kan is used as a suffix for buildings), the museum focuses on the role technology plays—and will play—in society. There are three permanent exhibitions where visitors can communicate with robots, view earth…
Museum of 3D optical illusions some of which are large murals into which visitors stand and pose for photographs to make themselves part of the scene. Visitors are actively encouraged to bring their cameras. Directions Inside Decks Tokyo Beach Seaside Mall.…