Odaiba

Odaiba お台場, a shopping and entertainment district on a man–made island, was our first stop in Tokyo. Not for shopping, but for the jaw dropping 18-meter tall Gundam at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. I am not a fan of Gundam, but still it was quite a sight to see. Especially when it started to move complete with lights and sounds in sync with the short episode (in Japanese) playing on the large screen.

DiverCity Tokyo Plaza

Gundam fans would surely love DiverCity Tokyo Plaza because it also has a Gundam Cafe and Gundam Front Tokyo (a museum of all things Gundam). Unfortunately for Gundam fans who are planning to visit in the next few months, the 18-meter tall Gundam is scheduled to be taken down in March 2017 and Gundam Front to close in April 5, 2017. The good news is something bigger and better are coming! Gundam Base will replace Gundam Front and will open Summer 2017, and a new and an even taller (close to 24 meters) Unicorn Gundam will rise in Autumn 2017.

Odaiba Statue of Liberty

Fuji TV Building

After gracing Gundam with our presence (ha!), we went for a chilly (it was end of October) walk along the seaside park where we saw a Statue of Liberty, tall buildings all lit up for the night, including the futuristic looking Fuji TV Building with its spherical observation room, and a beautiful night view of the Rainbow Bridge which is not rainbow colored (different colors can only be seen during special light up events).

Rainbow Bridge and, beyond that, Tokyo Tower

Odaiba is not only Gundam and nightviews. There are also museums and indoor amusement parks that I would have loved to visit had we had more time:

• Decks Tokyo Beach - a shopping center with indoor amusement parks (Tokyo Joypolis, Daiba 1-chome Shoutengai, Legoland Discovery Center Tokyo) and museums (Madame Tussauds Tokyo, Tokyo Trick Art Museum, Odaiba Takoyaki Museum).
• National Museum of Emerging Science (Miraikan) - an interactive science museum. Exhibits are in Japanese and English.
• Telecom Center - viewdeck (admission: 500 JPY) on the 21st floor.
• Oedo Onsen Monotagari - an onsen (hot spring) theme park set in the Edo Period.
• Toyota Mega Web - showcases Toyota's cars from past to present.
• Panasonic Center - displays Panasonic's newest products and technologies, an exhibit of how Panasonic sees life in 2020 to 2030, and a museum of science and mathematics in nature.

Oh well. More reasons to come back to Tokyo.

Japan
Know Before You Go
Single Entry Tourist Visa for Japan
Roam Around Japan with a Swagger
An Ignoramus in Japan: Vending Machines
An Ignoramus in Japan: Bathrooms and Toilets
An Ignoramus in Japan: Manhole Covers
I Spy With My Little Eye: Japan's Fashion Contradictions
I Spy With My Little Eye: On the Go in Japan

From Tokyo to Hiroshima (2015)
10D/9N | Tokyo, Toyama, Kyoto, Hyogo, Osaka, Hiroshima
Tokyo Accommodation: Shinjuku Airbnb
Tokyo: Memorable Tokyo Eats
Tokyo: Odaiba (you're here!)
Tokyo: Doing Touristy Things in Tokyo
Toyama: A Hamlet Called Ainokura
Kyoto Accommodation: K's House Hostel Kyoto
Kyoto, Japanecdote: Wisdom from the Road: On exits #2
Kyoto: By the Thousands (Kyoto Imperial Palace, Sanjusangendo, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove)
Kyoto, Japanecdote: Turning Japanese
Kyoto: Braving the Crowds at these UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji)
Hyogo, Japanecdote: If Only I Could Speak Nihongo
Hyogo: Day Trip to Himeji: Himeji Castle and Shoshazan Engyoji Temple
Hyogo, Japanecdote: Am I an Alien?
Hiroshima: Strolling and Snacking in Miyajima
Hiroshima: Remembering the Past in Hiroshima
Osaka, Japanecdote: How to Lose Friends
Osaka Accommodation: Osaka Airbnb
Osaka, Japanecdote: Where is Bentencho Station?
Osaka: Osaka Castle and Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai
Osaka, Japanecdote: Learn From Your Mistakes

Memorable Tokyo Eats

I haven't eaten anything in Japan that I didn't like or maybe I really just like food. We had ekiben which are boxed meals sold at train stations, bento (boxed meals) and onigiri (rice balls) from konbini (convenience stores), curry, ramen, donburi, etc. from whatever restaurant our hungry selves happened to gravitate towards. (For some reason we never thought to go to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Tsk.)

Of the six meals we had in Tokyo, all in different places, these two were the most memorable for me:

Komoro Soba

We stumbled upon this little restaurant while walking from Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to Yoyogi Station. We were quite hungry and the shokuhin sampuru (plastic food samples) in the clear glass shelf outside this small corner restaurant caught our eye. We don't know what the dishes were—the descriptions (and prices) were all in Japanese—but everything looked good. Thankfully, I had paid attention to my elementary Chinese lessons way back when, that I could read the prices...and it was quite cheap with dishes starting from 230 JPY.

Order and pay here...if you can figure it out. It's in Japanese!

Although the restaurant's name is Komoro Soba, it does not only serve soba, but also donburi (rice toppings). We studied the display outside, picked what we wanted to order, went through the door and found a white kiosk where we had to input our order and pay. It took us quite some time because it was in Japanese! (Tip: Memorize or take a photo of the Japanese label on the display! Or just go before or after the usual meal hours when the restaurant isn't busy, the kitchen staff can surely help.) After paying, the kiosk spit out the change and the meal ticket. We gave our tickets to the kitchen and waited for our order. With speed and efficiency, we didn't have to wait long. As soon as we got our food, we settled down and ate our rice bowls (yes, it's a soba restaurant but all of us rice eaters chose a donburi). The serving looked small but turned out to be filling. We all agreed that the food was very good (mine was ten don 天丼 or tempura donburi). But we couldn't dilly dally in this place as more office workers on lunch break were spilling in through the door.

天丼 ten don, 四二0円 420 yen

Where can you find Komoro Soba? It has more than 80 branches in Tokyo! The one we stumbled upon was at 5-20-16 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku.

Gogyo

Somebody in the group had the sense to search for ramen places and suggested we hunt for Gogyo, a restaurant that serves burnt ramen so says whatever it was he found on the internet. Off we went, no questions asked, after having our mandatory tourist photo taken with Tokyo Tower in the background. From Kamiyacho Station on the Tokyo Metro, it was just one stop and a 10-minute walk away. But I was so hungry that it felt like such a long walk and I had to ask "Are we there yet?" To my relief, and I am sure to my friends' relief (no more hearing the annoying "Are we there yet?" question from me), we found Gogyo.

I don't know what else was on the menu because I just zoomed in on the burnt ramen offerings: kogashi shoyu ramen and kogashi miso ramen. According to the menu, the kogashi broth is "prepared with lard (!) flambéed at 300°C." I am no food expert and don't know how to describe food, but, my oh my, my kogashi shoyu ramen with char siu was really really really good!!! Quite expensive at 1,130 JPY but well worth every yen I had to squeeze out of my wallet!

Kogashi Shoyu Ramen with char siu, 1130 JPY

Where can you find Gogyo? There is only one in Tokyo and it is at 1-4-36 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku. Aside from Tokyo, there are two other branches in Japan: Kyoto and Nagoya.

Japan

Know Before You Go
Single Entry Tourist Visa for Japan
Roam Around Japan with a Swagger
An Ignoramus in Japan: Vending Machines
An Ignoramus in Japan: Bathrooms and Toilets
An Ignoramus in Japan: Manhole Covers
I Spy With My Little Eye: Japan's Fashion Contradictions
I Spy With My Little Eye: On the Go in Japan

From Tokyo to Hiroshima (2015)
10D/9N | Tokyo, Toyama, Kyoto, Hyogo, Osaka, Hiroshima
Tokyo Accommodation: Shinjuku Airbnb
Tokyo: Memorable Tokyo Eats (you're here!)
Tokyo: Odaiba
Tokyo: Doing Touristy Things in Tokyo
Toyama: A Hamlet Called Ainokura
Kyoto Accommodation: K's House Hostel Kyoto
Kyoto, Japanecdote: Wisdom from the Road: On exits #2
Kyoto: By the Thousands (Kyoto Imperial Palace, Sanjusangendo, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove)
Kyoto, Japanecdote: Turning Japanese
Kyoto: Braving the Crowds at these UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji)
Hyogo, Japanecdote: If Only I Could Speak Nihongo
Hyogo: Day Trip to Himeji: Himeji Castle and Shoshazan Engyoji Temple
Hyogo, Japanecdote: Am I an Alien?
Hiroshima: Strolling and Snacking in Miyajima
Hiroshima: Remembering the Past in Hiroshima
Osaka, Japanecdote: How to Lose Friends
Osaka Accommodation: Osaka Airbnb
Osaka, Japanecdote: Where is Bentencho Station?
Osaka: Osaka Castle and Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai
Osaka, Japanecdote: Learn From Your Mistakes

Shinjuku Airbnb

For our three nights in Tokyo, we stayed at an apartment in Shinjuku booked through Airbnb. If I travel to Tokyo again with three friends, I would stay here again. Why?

Location. The apartment is off the main road in a quiet residential area. There are several convenience stores and restaurants nearby. And it is just a 5-minute walk from Higashi-Shinjuku Tokyo Metro Station and a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station. It was very easy to find thanks to the clear instructions given by the Airbnb host.

Privacy. The apartment sleeps four (two bunk beds), has a mini kitchen, and a toilet and bath. Though small—when we have to open our luggage at the same time, there is barely room to move from the bedroom to the bathroom or the kitchen; the size of the bathroom is okay for Asians but will be too small for westerners — it's our own little apartment and we don't have to share it with strangers.

WiFi. A pocket WiFi is provided.

Price. The apartment cost us only 34,400 JPY for three nights for four persons. That's about 2870 JPY per person per night. About the same or even cheaper than staying in a dorm bed in a hostel, which usually ranges from 2500 JPY to 3800 JPY per person per night.



Japan
Know Before You Go
Single Entry Tourist Visa for Japan
Roam Around Japan with a Swagger
An Ignoramus in Japan: Vending Machines
An Ignoramus in Japan: Bathrooms and Toilets
An Ignoramus in Japan: Manhole Covers
I Spy With My Little Eye: Japan's Fashion Contradictions
I Spy With My Little Eye: On the Go in Japan

From Tokyo to Hiroshima (2015)
10D/9N | Tokyo, Toyama, Kyoto, Hyogo, Osaka, Hiroshima
Tokyo Accommodation: Shinjuku Airbnb (you're here!)
Tokyo: Memorable Tokyo Eats
Tokyo: Odaiba
Tokyo: Doing Touristy Things in Tokyo
Toyama: A Hamlet Called Ainokura
Kyoto Accommodation: K's House Hostel Kyoto
Kyoto, Japanecdote: Wisdom from the Road: On exits #2
Kyoto: By the Thousands (Kyoto Imperial Palace, Sanjusangendo, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove)
Kyoto, Japanecdote: Turning Japanese
Kyoto: Braving the Crowds at these UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kyoto (Kiyomizu-dera, Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji)
Hyogo, Japanecdote: If Only I Could Speak Nihongo
Hyogo: Day Trip to Himeji: Himeji Castle and Shoshazan Engyoji Temple
Hyogo, Japanecdote: Am I an Alien?
Hiroshima: Strolling and Snacking in Miyajima
Hiroshima: Remembering the Past in Hiroshima
Osaka, Japanecdote: How to Lose Friends
Osaka Accommodation: Osaka Airbnb
Osaka, Japanecdote: Where is Bentencho Station?
Osaka: Osaka Castle and Tenjinbashisuji Shotengai
Osaka, Japanecdote: Learn From Your Mistakes