On my first trip to Japan I had planned to go to a number of anime related places, so much so that unfortunately the holiday just ended up being an “anime holiday” for the most part. At the time I thought that I would never go back there and crammed as much stuff I wanted to see in the short week and a half I was there. Earlier in that year Gundam Front Tokyo had just began trading in the newly opened Diver City shopping complex and this was the main reason I wanted to go to Odaiba. The main attraction of Gundam Front Tokyo (and Diver City) is the 18 metre tall RX-78-2 Gundam statute which stands right outside Diver City. It was previously used by Bandai as a promotional tool for the franchise’s 20th anniversary, in particular for the line of model kits, but now it has been on display in Odaiba since 2012.
Odaiba is in fact a large artificial island in Tokyo bay. Originally built for defensive purposes in the 1850’s, during the tail end of the economic bubble in the early 1990’s it was earmarked for expansion with the then Tokyo governor announcing the area to be redeveloped as Tokyo Teleport Town. The plans were quite grand with residential and commercial properties planned along with a projected 100,000 residents to be living there by the middle of the decade. However by 1995 over a trillion yen had been sunk into the project. The economic bubble had burst long ago, the developers were bankrupt and many plots of land remained undeveloped. The other problem is that Odaiba is virtually in the middle of nowhere in terms transport. It takes over half an hour to get there from Shinjuku via the train. Businesses just weren’t interested in the place. Odaiba was viewed as a boondoggle. The new governor of Tokyo halted the plan.
However less than five years later, Odaiba started to become a rather popular local leisure and tourist spot. This really isn’t all that surprising considering what’s there; two museums (Museum of Maritime Science and Miraikan), a number of shopping malls, lots of parks and open spaces, and plenty of futuristic architecture such as the Fuji Television building and Tokyo Big Sight which hosts conventions and other events such as Comiket (in summer and winter) and the annual Anime Japan. The extension of the Yurikamome line into Odaiba also helped with the popularity of the area. In the last couple of years there have been proposals to relocate Kabukicho from Shinjuku to Odaiba (which seems absurd beyond belief), however as you can imagine nearly all of the businesses and residents of Kabukicho hated this daft idea. This was plan was part of a push to “clean up” Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic games. Hopefully it has been hit on the head.
To get to Odaiba, probably the best way is to use the JR Saikyo line from Shibuya which will normally link on to the Rinki line without any transfers. However it is advisable to check Hyperdia before you go. The trip usually takes 20 minutes from Shibuya to Tokyo Teleport. The other option is the Yurikamome line which is far more picturesque journey, but will add on another 15 minutes (to Daiba station). Exiting Tokyo Teleport (the “B” exit), keep walking straight ahead following the covered walkway until you come to the overpass. Keep walking towards the distinctive Fuji Television building, right past on its right hand side. Walk between past the Aqua City and Decks Odaiba/Joypolis buildings (unfortunately the “Little Hong Kong” replica of a Hong Kong streetscape was shut down years ago) and across the road to the park. Walk along the boardwalk to your left and you’ll eventually comes across a replica of the Statue of Liberty. This one quarter scale replica (a bit over 12 metres) was a present from France to Japan and installed in April 1998 for the commemoration of "The French Year in Japan".
Walking along the waterfront is quite pleasant with a nice view of the city and the Rainbow Bridge (blown up in “The Next Generation – Patlabor -” movie). You may even see the Tokyo Cruise Ship Company’s Himiko cruise boat, designed by Leiji Matsumoto (of “Captain Harlock” and “Galaxy Express 999” fame). The only other thing of interest is the Noitamina Shop and Cafe Theatre on the fourth floor of Aqua City. Other than that, the two closest malls in the area are full of chain stores you can practically find anywhere else on the planet. If you get back on the viewing platform between the Hilton Hotel and Aqua City, you can turn around and walk back to Diver City on several connecting pedestrian overpasses without having to cross any of the roads below.
Here you will find the shopping complex Diver City and 18 metre tall RX-78-2 Gundam statute which sits outside. Unfortunately Bandai have decided that the statue will be disassembled on 5 March 2017. Where it will be displayed from then on, nobody knows. Behind the Gundam statue is a local branch of the Gundam Café (open from 10am). The menu isn’t as large as the main store in Akihabara, but you can buy coffee, light meals such as takeaway burgers and a of course a ton of merchandise. I am unsure if the café will be closing when the statue is dismantled. Inside Diver City are a number of chain stores and restaurants, most of which you can find in any large shopping centre in Japan (or the world for multinational chains). Of interest on the seventh floor though is Gundam Front Tokyo (open 10am) which is like a mini amusement park/museum for all things Gundam. There are a couple of free areas such the Strict-G upmarket Gundam inspired fashion shop and the main shop, however to see the displays, it will cost ¥1,000. This includes a short film in the G-Dome where CG animation projected on the inside of a dome, an “experience field” which has a full sized battle scared Core Fighter and a Strike Freedom Gundam torso which you can enter and have pictures taken in the cockpit for an extra fee, plus other displays and a Gunpla Factory which explains how they make the model kits as well as a chance to make one yourself. As fan of the series, I found Gundam Front Tokyo was really well done and extremely fan friendly.
There is so much attention to detail such as the hallway to the entrance of the Dome-G theatre (above). If stand in a certain spot, you can see the image of Heero Yuy’s Gundam from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. A loop of two introductory videos laying out the rules for the Dome-G play in this hallway before you go in. One is narrated by Gihren Zabi from the original Gundam series, the other by Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed. Unfortunately Bandai have decided to close Gundam Front Tokyo on 5 April 2017. With the removal of both Gundam attractions, I’m not sure what else Diver City could do to attract visitors. Without the Gundam stuff it’s just another ordinary shopping complex. There was a Maidreamin maid café in the complex, but it seems to have shut down.
Right outside Diver City in front of the Gundam statue, if you turn to your right, keep walking over what is called the Symbol Promenade Park for around 270 metres. To your right you’ll see a covered walkway to the Mega Web (open from 11am). Walk through that to get to Toyota’s history showcase. This is display of various motor vehicles from the 1950’s right through to Toyota’s short-lived foray into the world of Formula One motor racing in the 2000’s. It also includes an area where they restoring cars they’ve recently acquired and of course a gift shop. The complex also includes Toyota Showcase City which displays current models, concept cars and cars available for test drives and Ride Studio which is basically a large indoor go-karting place. Connected to the Mega Web is Venus Fort, whose interior looks like an elaborate mock-up of an 18th century southern European town. The lighting cycles though the various parts of a day (from morning to night) in about 15 minutes or so. It’s gaudy and quite odd. I’ve never really seen any shopping complex like it before. It’s certainly worth the trip even if you’re not interested in any of the shops. Apart from the usual chain shops you find in these complexes there is a local branch of Studio Ghibli’s Donguri Republic chain, Village Vanguard and Kiddy Land.
Finally, the other building of note is Tokyo Big Sight. To get there, go to Aomi Station and take the Yurikamome line to Kokusai-tenjijo-seimon Station (about a 10 minute trip). As I said before this convention centre hosts the two big otaku events in Tokyo; the biannual Comiket and the annual Anime Japan. Even if there is no conventions happening, it’s still an awesome building to behold. Around 350 meters over the walkway across the road is the Panasonic Centre. This is mostly a building to display Panasonic goods, however some of the displays are quite interesting. Best of all it’s free. The building also houses Nintendo Game Front were you can play recently released games and a café.
There’s far more to Odaiba than what I’ve mentioned here. You could literally spend a day or two wandering around and discovering all it has to offer. I think it’s a real shame that Bandai has decided to pull up stumps in regards to its Gundam related attractions. Still if you need somewhere to go on a rainy day in Tokyo the museums, shopping malls and other attractions in Odaiba should be more than enough to fill in a day or two. Next time like everyone else who has visited Tokyo, I’ll be looking at the Ghibli Museum to give my thoughts.
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