Just Wild Beat Communication: Gundam In Odaiba

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Odaiba is a man-made island in Tokyo Bay. This island is huge, sif you plan to go here, pick out those places that you’d be interested to see. I almost skipped this island because the hostel considers Odaiba as an “overrated" tourist spot. But I decided to proceed because... the life size Gundam was there. 

Going to Odaiba, you have ride the Yurikamome rail. The fare is quite expensive compared to the other metro lines.

How to go to Odaiba from Asakusa:
  • From Asakusa station (Asakusa Line A18 and Ginza Line G19), proceed to Shimabashi Station (A10, G08).
  • Navigate your way to Yurikamome Line. You’ll find signs, or you’ll find someone to ask.
    Yurikamome Railway Area Map
  • Buy a ticket. I had a preloaded Pasmo card which can be used in this line. But considering my history in hopping off the wrong train station, I decided to buy a one day open ticket. I can ride all I want and my itinerary would be flexible with this.
  • Not all machines sell the one day ticket, so find one that has. The day ticket costs ¥ 800. Yeap, that’s another ¥ 800 for one day. Ka-ching!
This one sells a one-day ticket

I got lucky and scored a nice seat. The train gets crowded so the last ones to board had to stand up during the ride - this was around 9:00am. I got a nice view of the 270 degree turn of the train as it approached Odaiba.

Yurikamome Rail 270-degree turn. Parang roller coaster lang.

Got off at Daiba station and proceeded to walk towards Diver City. I ignored the Fuji TV Building in the meantime and made a beeline for Diver City.
There's one of my childhood superheroes!
As I got closer, I saw this...this...this flower arrangement like Gundam. I have no words. It is not amazing, cute, wonderful or what. I guess CREATIVE, would be the word.

The purple camera case with the floral Gundam and astig life-sized Gundam.

Gundam Wing is a Shounen (aimed for the male audience) manga back in1998/1999. I diligently watched the series during the summer break (it was shown in GMA 7, I think). Most of the time, I didn't completely understand what happened in the episode so I would call (using the telephone back then) my Amigas to have a fruitful discussion about the episode. This would be supplemented with a through research in Anipike using a dial-up connection. Ah, the fan-girling days back then. 


Despite being geared for a male audience, my Amigas and I were fascinated with the series. I was crushing on the fictional character of Heero Yuy back then. A hunky pilot with crazy hair wearing spandex shorts who can pilot this robot? Cool!

Just Wild Beat Communication. Ame ni utare nagara....
Heero Yuy and Gundam.

Stop laughing. Pssshtttt :P

In high school, my fellow amigas did some sketching (while I failed miserably) and I kept some sketches I was most fond of. I went to my junk pile and retrieved some of these sketches before I flew out to Japan.
With a Heero Yuy Sketch
I know I know, that is not Heero’s Gundam. That’s not the point. My point is... quite sentimental and corny.

 I made it to Japan. HARHAR!
A 1999 sketch

I was that sentimental. I kept sentimental”junk” from 14 years ago. The junk made it to Japan!

As lunch approached, the sun became more unforgiving so I sought refuge in the air-conditioned Diver City Mall. Spent some time looking around Uniqlo. There were some good sale finds. I didn't plan to shop at this point, Day 2 pa lang! But I loosened my penny-pinching rules and spent on some clothes. 

Found some opportunities to burn Yen.
Time for food. Since it was still too hot outside and I wasn't feeling adventurous to check other options, I settled for a restaurant in Diver City Mall's foodcourt.

Soba with egg something and melon soda for JPY 880

Repleted with food, I set out to my next destination in Odaiba. Rampa  na ulit.
Kelangan talaga kasam yung shopping bag sa pic no.

Daikanransha: The huge ferris wheel at Venus Fort. This used to be the world's tallest ferris wheel.


I was feelin’ mighty courageous so I patiently waited for a glass-paneled cart. The ride cost me JPY 900. Ayoko na mag-convert to PHP. Nakaka-depress lang.


At the top, I saw a full view of Odaiba.



The ride didn't take that long. I decided to spend some time just riding the Yurikamome trail without any destination in particular. Parang round trip lang sa MRT. The rail is above ground, so I got to enjoy the view.Actually, gusto ko lang magpahinga dahil pagod na ako.

At dusk, I explored the area around Fuji TV Building and watched the beauty of the Rainbow Bridge unfold at night.
Fuji TV Building
Nasa US rin akooooo!
Odaiba. Statue of Liberty and Fuji TV Building

Odaiba would be a worth destination in Tokyo if you'd like to see some unique Japanese buildings. Pre-select the areas that you will explore, the island is huge. You will not be able to tour everything in one day. If temples and parks are your thing, Odaiba would probably be boring. The life-size Gundam statue made my trip to Odaiba worthwhile.

Comments

  1. allukaJune 23, 2013 at 2:42 AM

    Hi there
    Found your blog on GT :) You're lucky that you got a chance to go to Odaiba. Haha I can relate, me and my friends enjoyed Gundam Wing too. I used to have a crush on Heero too (even asked my brother when he went to Japan to look for him and bring him home XD)

    Can I ask how to plan a trip to Japan? I should get a tourist visa for it right? I wanted to visit this place http://gundamfront-tokyo.com/en/ but I don't have any idea especially the expenses for a trip to Japan.

    Thanks for the help ^^

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adventure AccountantJune 23, 2013 at 8:52 PM

    Hello Alluka! Yay, a Heero-fan too! Heero is crushable in paper and TV. I can't imagine how he would look like in real though - spandex shorts and sleeveless shirt. Parang ang baduy! Hehehehe! :)

    This is the budget and itinerary of my Japan trip. Hope this helps!
    http://adventureaccounting.blogspot.com/2012/11/japan-itinerary-and-budget-breakdown.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. SarahAugust 17, 2015 at 7:36 PM

    Hala, I just realized I never commented on this.
    HAHAHAHAHA your story-telling about our Gundam fangirling, drawing, and post-episode analyses.
    So, wait, what did you do from lunch until sundown aside from going to Uniqlo?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Adventure AccountantAugust 17, 2015 at 11:42 PM

    Sarah - Ummm, based on photos (because I forgot already, hehe), I rode the Ferris Wheel, explored Venus Fort and just walked around until I found Fuji Building at night. Fuji Building and the Rainbow Bridge view is pretty at night. But if photos are enough, you can spend your night elsewhere (Yokohama is nice at night, said a friend based there).

    ReplyDelete

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