Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Miraikan
ຊՊֶະདྷؗ
, Nihon kakagu miraikan • 2-3-6 Aomi, Kōtō-ku • Daily except Tues 10am-5pm • ¥600 •
T
03 3570 9151,
W
www
.miraikan.jst.go.jp • Telecom Center station
West of Palette Town is Tokyo's best science museum, the
National Museum of
Emerging Science and Innovation
, also known as the
Miraikan
. Here you can learn
about the latest in robot technology, superconductivity (including Maglev trains),
space exploration and much more, as well as check out the weather around the world
by looking up at a giant sphere covered with one million light-emitting diodes showing
the globe as it appears from space that day. All displays have English explanations and
there are also plenty of English-speaking volunteer guides on hand.
Museum of Maritime Science
ધͷՊֶؗ
, Fune no kagakukan • 3-1 Higashiyashio, Shinagawa-ku • Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm • ¥700; canoeing
¥600 •
T
03 5550 1111,
W
funenokagakukan.or.jp • Fune-no-kagakukan station
The excellent
Museum of Maritime Science
is housed in a concrete reproduction of a
60,000-tonne cruise ship, where exhibits include many detailed model boats and the
engines of a giant ship. Docked outside are a couple of real boats: the
Sōya
, which
undertook scientific missions to the South Pole, and the
Yōtei Marine
, a ferry refitted
as an exhibition space. Within the museum grounds you'll also find a couple of
lighthouses, submarines, a flying boat and, from April to October, the opportunity
to practise canoeing.
7
Shiokaze-kōen
ை෩ެԂ
• 2 Higashiyashio, Shinagawa-ku • 24hr • Daiba station
Over on the western side of Odaiba island is
Shiokaze-kōen
, a pleasant park where
families come to use the outdoor barbecue pits in good weather. It provides a ringside
seat to watch the action across the bay at the container port, where lines of red cranes
look like giraffes at feeding time. You may notice an odd triangular tower on your way
in: this is an air vent for the road tunnel that goes under Tokyo Bay.
Odaiba beach
͓
, Odaiba hama •
Aqua City
W
aquacity.jp •
Decks Tokyo Beach
W
odaiba-decks.com •
Joypolis
T
03 5500 1801,
W
sega.jp/joypolis/tokyo • Daiba station
On the north side of the island, Odaiba's man-made
beach
boasts a fantastic view of
the Rainbow Bridge (see below), as well as an unexpected scale copy of the Statue of
Liberty. It's a wonderful place to be in the evening, looking at the bridge and twinkly
lights beyond, especially if you take off your shoes and dip your feet into the river.
Fronting the beach are a couple of linked shopping malls,
Aqua City
and
Decks Tokyo
Beach
. Apart from plenty of shops and restaurants (see p.151), the former includes
the Mediage multiplex cinema, while the latter has
Joypolis
(see p.184), a multistorey
arcade filled with Sega's interactive entertainment technology.
Fuji TV Building
࢜ςϨϏϏϧ
, Fuji terebi biru • 2-4-8 Daiba, Minato-ku • Viewing platform Tues-Sun 10am-8pm • ¥500 • Daiba station
A surreal, sci-fi aura hangs over Tange Kenzō's
Fuji TV Building
- with a huge metal
sphere suspended in its middle, it looks as if it's been made from a giant Meccano set.
You can pay to head up to the 25th-floor
viewing platform
, or save the cash for a drink
in the
Sky Lounge
at the top of the neighbouring
Grand Pacific Le Daiba
hotel, where
the view is thrown in for free.
Rainbow Bridge
ϨΠϯϘʔϒϦοδ
• Observation rooms daily: Jan-March, Nov & Dec 10am-6pm; April-Oct 10am-9pm • ¥300 • Shibaura Futō station
From Odaiba you can cross back to mainland Tokyo along the
Rainbow Bridge
, a
918m-long, single-span suspension bridge in two levels: the lower bears the waterfront