Tokyo Day 7: Odaiba

This morning, I opened the blackout blinds before we were fully awake and the light was so bright. We shrunk away like vampires and hissed at the sudden attack on our eyeballs. It was another beautiful, bright day in Tokyo. I’m really going to miss waking up to this view from our 8^th floor room.

Our plan was to spend all day and most of the evening at Odaiba, a manmade island right in Tokyo Bay. It was built in the 1850s as extra defence for the city, but is now a thriving entertainment and business hub. The main draw for us was Ōedo-onsen-monogatari, a hot spring bath ‘theme park’, and we were going to spend the evening there after exploring a few other things on the island.

I decided to have a bath instead of a shower again. I wanted to be nice and clean for when we went to onsen later. It was as lovely as ever, and I felt relaxed when I got out.

We’ve gotten into the habit of personifying our Sushi WiFi device. His name is simply ‘Sushi’ and we speak to him like he’s alive, especially when we need to charge him up. I have no idea when or why we started doing this, but I’m becoming attached to an inanimate object and will be sad to send him back to Akihabara at the end of the trip.

It took around an hour to get out to Odaiba. First we had to get the Keihin-Tōhoku line from Okachimachi to Shimbashi. From there, we had to catch the Yurikamome automated train, a high-line that connects Odaiba to the mainland. Coming out of Shimbashi, we managed to get a glimpse of the Giant Ghibli Clock, which was special.

The ride into Odaiba was so nice. The train tracks rose above the street level, the sun shone in the windows and the views were amazing. Soon we started to see the warehouses and industrial buildings of the bay and then, for a while, there was nothing but sparkling blue water beneath us.

When we got off of the train at Odaiba-kaihinkōen station, we were admiring a map in the station that reminded us of a Grand Theft Auto map and were approached by a girl taking a survey for her job. She just wanted to know what brought us to Odaiba that day, if this was our first trip to Tokyo, things like that. We were quite happy to answer as we weren’t on a time limit.

We talked about how clean the city is, especially compared to London. She was surprised as she thought the seaside at Odaiba wasn’t very clean. We told her to wait until she sees the Thames, and she mentioned she was actually going to London later in the year (all going well, what with the COVID-19 threat). We promised her that London is great, but to be prepared for it to be expensive and for people to be a lot ruder than in Tokyo.

The 'GTA map'.

Once she was done with the questions, and we’d had a really nice chat, she thanked us and handed us both little Iwako erasers. They were shaped like a lucky charm, and the inscription was for academic achievement and improved knowledge. So cute!

We exited the station on the side that lead to Odaiba Beach. I’d heard the view of the city from the beach was great so we went to look. We sat on some benches looking out at the bay, the Rainbow Bridge, and mainland Tokyo rising in the background. Don’t be fooled by the photos – despite the blue sky and beaming sun, it was so cold on the island so we didn’t sit still for too long. Walking up the seaside was nice, despite random construction being in the way at some points. I spied the Olympic rings set up in the bay, which was exciting. Despite the cold, it was a nice walk.

We ended up at the DiverCity mall, because we wanted to see the giant Gundam statue. But first, we headed to the food hall as we were starving. The hall was really busy, but we managed to find a little table in the sea of people. There were so many options for food that it took us a while to decide where to go. In the end we went to a place called Oyakadon Torikai Express, which specialises in egg-and-rice bowls as well as fried chicken.

I completely forgot to photograph our meals, so I can’t remember our exact dishes. I had a rice bowl with fried chicken and shredded cabbage on top, and Caz had more of a plate of rice with fried chicken, tempura and shredded cabbage. We both got a little cup of miso with our meals. Despite this really vague description of the food, it was really tasty and we both cleared our plates (anyone who knows me knows that me eating a pile of shredded cabbage is a huge achievement).

I’d already spied out a dessert place I wanted to go to. It’s called Decora Creamery and serves ice cream, bubble tea and candyfloss. It was so cute, all pastel colours, and smelled really sweet. Caz got a big rainbow candyfloss similar to the one we had in Harajuku. I got a pink ice cream with blue candyfloss wrapped around it and a milk tea flavoured bubble tea. The desserts were, of course, amazing and so much fun. I’d never had bubble tea before and was slightly fearful of the tapioca pearls, but it was really nice!

We looked around the floor of the mall that the food court is on. We found the Unko Museum, which was all about… Poop? Not real poop but colourful, cute, emoji, and sparkly poop. It was so bizarre, and I kind of wish I’d gone in just to see what the hell that was all about. We laughed so much about it - Japan has a real thing about cute poops. I also loved a shop called Wabi Sabi, that sold a lot of traditional Japanese gifts like chopsticks, tabi socks, cookware, etc. Everything was so nice but I found a really cute pair of tabi socks – they’re olive green and have little flowers and Shiba Inu on them!

Exiting via a door near the food hall, we found ourselves behind the giant Gundam statue. It’s AWESOME. According to Google, it stands at fifty-nine feet tall and is supposedly the canon height of a real Gundam. We walked around to see the front of him and it was really amazing. There were a lot of people in the plaza just looking at the statue, taking photos and videos. I soon found out why when the statue started lighting up and the helmet opened! There was suddenly mist and background music and it was so cool. Apparently it’s even better at night, when it’s accompanied by more lights and a projection.

Caz wanted to take a look at the Gundam BASE store on the top floor of DiverCity, so we got into the lift to check it out. It was half-store and half-museum, showcasing all of the styles of Gundam model from when it all started in 1980. I’m not even into Gundam and don’t know a lot about it, but I got caught up in the hype. There was also areas for fans to come and build custom models as well as the huge store filled to bursting with model kits. I couldn’t believe how many they were (and the price of them!). Caz was wistfully imagining having the job of the people who built all of the example models in the glass cases. I agreed that it would be awesome to be paid to just make models, but I’d never be hired because of my ridiculously unsteady hands.

I had found out about the free Tokyo Bay Shuttle bus and worked out there was a stop just outside of DiverCity. We rode it around to the Fuji Television Wangan Studio stop. There were random blue Snoopy statues there, and it had gotten even colder as the sun set.

It was so cold we couldn’t even process walking for five minutes to the onsen, so we took shelter in a nearby gift shop (which I later found out was for the Museum ofEmerging Science). We walked into the end of the museum proper to find a toilet, and literally no one stopped us. We went through a sort of hall with a huge floating Earth hanging up, which looked so cool.

We were gently told that the museum was closing in ten minutes and then left alone again. It was nice to be able to pee without having security looming over us!

We steeled ourselves once again and made a brisk trot to the onsen, complaining the whole way about how the cold was killing us. The payoff was the traditional-style building coming into view, all pretty and lit up with stone lanterns at the entrance.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, onsen is the Japanese word for a hot spring bath. The word is also used to refer to any buildings or indoor facilities associated with the spring. As Japan is very volcanic, this naturally-occurring hot water is in abundance. The water is believed to have healing and purifying properties, as well as being a generally relaxing and social tradition. Originally, baths were mixed-sex, but as time went on a lot of them now have separate baths for males and females. You can still find mixed ones in more rural areas of Japan, but I don’t think I’d have been brave enough to do it like that for my first experience of onsen. Luckily, Ōedo-onsen-monogatari has separate baths.

Because we’re from a culture where being naked in front of strangers is not really done and the UK being pretty much the only European country with these sorts of hang-ups, we were really apprehensive about this. But we felt we had to experience onsen as it’s such a traditional and important part of Japanese culture. So we bit the proverbial bullet.

If you recall from my first Japan post, we had already picked up our pre-booked tickets at the airport – shout out to Voyagin for the discount we got! As soon as you come into the front building, there’s an area to remove your shoes before you step up to the interior floor mats. There’s a bank of lockers to the left where you can stash your footwear and take the key with you.

We joined the short queue for pre-bookings, and were soon handing over our tickets. At this point, we were given a little electronic wristband. This was to be scanned whenever you bought something inside and added to your bill at the end. It’s a great idea because then you don’t have to carry around a bag or money while you’re trying to relax.

After the reception there was an area to pick up a yukata to wear. There were a few cute designs to choose from – I got a pink and purple one with a red belt. The next stop was the women’s changing room, where you strip down to your underwear and put on the yukata. There are ties inside to secure it, and then the belt adds extra security and coverage. It was quite easy to figure out, though my bows weren’t anywhere as neat and pretty as the actual Japanese people’s ones were! I quickly decided I wanted to find a yukata to take home as a souvenir.

Stepping through a pair of hanging doorway curtains (Noren), we took in the interior of the main hall. The ceiling was painted dark to resemble the sky, and the place was themed like a traditional Japanese Matsuri. Traditional shop facades lined the edges, and a big tower rose up in the centre. Towards the back was a big area filled with picnic tables for people to sit and eat at. There were stalls with traditional gifts, sweets and festival games. It was all lit up by soft recessed lights and paper lanterns. It was so pretty and an immediately peaceful feeling came over us despite how busy it was. People of all ages wandered around in their yukata, browsing and enjoying each other’s company.

There were lots of different spa treatments available on the way to the baths. We didn’t have any because of the extra costs but I’d be interested in getting a head massage or hot stone therapy there some day. We bypassed the spa area and found the changing room for the main thing we were there for - the baths.

Getting naked really wasn’t as traumatic as I thought it would be. As soon as we entered the changing room there were just naked people everywhere, you almost felt weird for being clothed. Caz and I have known each other for over 20 years, so we’re comfortable enough around each other for the experience to be less scary and awkward.

We grabbed a couple of yellow hair towels and found lockers with keys in them, where we stashed our phones and the electronic bracelets. We stood for a moment in fear, then I said “Right, I’m doing it now or I won’t do it at all.” and just started taking the yukata off. At first, I futilely tried to cover myself with the tiny hair towel, but then I couldn’t be bothered with that. Literally everyone else was in the same state and in Japanese culture, it’s not weird to be naked around strangers. It was quite freeing!

Before you get into the baths, you must make sure that your body is clean so as not to ruin the purity of the spring water. There’s a little station where you can get a bucket of water and pour it all over yourself, as well as stalls with shower heads, shampoo and soap. You have to rinse off all soap before you enter the baths. We’d researched the rules before going so we knew what to do.

We went to the bath furthest from the changing room which turned out to be a mistake as that’s where they put the hottest bath. I barely got one foot in before I had to retreat, it was like molten lava! We found a smaller, empty spring water bath in the centre of the room and got into that one instead. It was glorious. The water was about as hot as I could stand comfortably, and my muscles immediately felt relieved. Caz has some pretty bad blisters on her feet so the bath did wonders for her too. We put our towels on our heads, as is customary, and just floated around in the bath for a while. I had to get out later when I felt myself getting dehydrated, but we were so proud of ourselves for being brave and experiencing an onsen bath.

As well as being thirsty, we were ready for some dinner. There were plenty of places to eat in the building. Caz and I opted for sushi, as we hadn’t eaten any so far. She got some cucumber rolls and salmon Nigiri, I opted for tuna rolls. They were so delicious and fresh. Sushi is designed to be little morsels that you can pick up easily with chopsticks, and it’s seen as good etiquette to put the whole piece into your mouth at once. I was pleased with my chopstick wielding – I appear to be improving every day!

We found some stairs near the bath changing rooms that led to a big sofa room. It was a darkened room filled with comfy reclining seats and personal TVs that you could plug headphones into. It was a place for people to just kick back and chill, or even have a nap if they want. The only rules are that you can’t bring in food and drink, and you must stay quiet and respect everyone around you. We soon found two adjacent chairs and reclined. It was at this point that I became obsessed with my yukata sleeves – they’re stitched in such a way that they stay stiff and keep their shape even when you have your arm straight up in the air.

It was really nice to just lie there and relax. But there’s something that always happens to us when we’re supposed to be quiet – we get the giggles. It really didn’t help that there were two people snoring on either side of the room so it was like surround-sound. We were soon quaking with silent laughter and became absolutely helpless when someone else sneezed because they literally said ‘ACHOO’. I eventually left Caz there to chill as I needed more water. I also couldn’t stop laughing and didn’t want to disturb anyone.

In an outside area was a hot foot bath (Ashiyu). It was like a little river in the garden, with petals and leaves floating on the surface. Everything was bathed in a blue light, and steam rose off of the water. It was so cold outside and we had bare feet so we scuttled over to the bath pretty quickly. We perched on the edge and dipped our feet in. It was amazing to be outside in the dark and cold, with this incredible warmth on our feet and lower legs.

However, I would recommend that you’re fully prepared to stand up in the bath. There are pebbles and stones set into the floor, which are supposedly there to massage your feet as you walk around the bath. I literally couldn’t walk more than a couple of steps because they hurt. I have no idea how anyone can endure walking the whole length of the foot bath. There was also a path nearby that was just rows of these stones! I attempted to walk on them and it hurt like hell.

The stones did provide entertainment for us though. As we were still sitting on the edge of the bath, two teenage Chinese boys came along and walked right into the bath. They immediately started screaming as they attempted to walk on the stones, pushing and heckling each other the whole time. It was so funny and they made it a good way before finally admitting defeat and sitting on the side. We looked up to see an American girl looking warily at the bath. She said, “I’m not sure I want to walk in there now.” She tried her best, but didn’t manage to get too far either. I’m really not exaggerating how much those stones hurt.

Eventually we had to go back inside as the cold was starting to get to us. We legged it back to the door because our now-wet feet on the freezing stone slabs was unbearable. When we reached the mercifully warm entrance we towelled off our feet and went back to the main area.

Ah yes, the weird water refraction that gives everyone cankles.

There was a small arcade area, and Caz of course was roped in by the Mario Kart machine. She wanted to see what it was like to play barefoot, which made me laugh. I found a cute little souvenir place nearby and had a look around. I found a Hello Kitty themed Japan shot glass – I quite often buy shot glasses for Mum and Martin when I travel, so I picked that up. I also got myself a cute red coin purse with a wee bell on the zip and a cherry blossom (Sakura) pattern. I looked at the yukata available there, but didn’t find a design I really loved. I did however find out that my birth flower in Japan is a Sakura, which is lovely!

There was a crepe stand run by one of the companies in Harajuku. I had meant to get a crepe while at Takeshita Street, but had eaten so much I couldn’t manage it. So I took the opportunity tonight. I chose a cheesecake, Belgian chocolate and cream one. It was stunning, all warm and melty, and I’m so happy that I went for it.

The rest of the time at onsen was just spent sitting on the benches, watching people go by, and just relaxing. It was wonderfully warm in there, and the atmosphere was a happy one. We talked about how happy we were that we’d summoned the courage to come here – it’s definitely an experience you need to tick off while in Japan. All in all, we spent a good five hours there before getting dressed, returning our yukata and settling up our bills. The electronic bracelets really are a great idea. You don’t have to carry a purse around or worry about having enough cash, but I would recommend keeping a rough idea of how much you’re spending so you don’t have any nasty surprises on leaving!

After retrieving our shoes, we only had to walk down to the Telecom Center station, which was a five minute walk at most. From there, we could get the Yurikamome all the way back to Shimbashi. It was an exciting ride again because we were right at the front of the automated train and could see the lit-up Rainbow Bridge out of the front window. It distracted us from the somewhat spooky darkness of the Tokyo Bay water beneath us.

A really bad-quality photo of our view

The rest of the journey to our hotel was really dreamy and I don’t even remember a lot of it. I’m feeling chilled out, restored, and totally ready for week two!