Odaiba is a hugely popular tourist attraction and sightseeing spot in central Tokyo, Japan. It is a large artificial island with a manmade seashore in Tokyo Bay, where the waterfront is accessible for leisurely activities. It is a shopping and amusement center filled with many spots completely worthy of visiting.
This area is excellent for a day of family fun. As well, it is one of the famous dating spots among young generations in Tokyo. It has become one of Tokyo’s top attractions and a hotspot among both foreign and local travelers. It offers entertainment opportunities to both adults and kids with a wide selection of shopping, dining, and leisure options.
This artificial sandy beach in Odaiba is the best place for a dynamic and panoramic view of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Especially the night view of the city from Odaiba is breathtaking. The bright neon color-filled city, with a background of the illuminated Rainbow Bridge is a captivating sight to witness.
We used to visit Tokyo for academic conferences while staying in Sendai city. During these trips, we were able to visit many interesting places in Tokyo. Although Tokyo locates more than 500 km far from Sendai, it took less than 2 hours to reach there by bullet train.
Access to Odaiba
Odaiba can conveniently access from Tokyo, taking about 30 minutes from Tokyo Station. You can travel from Tokyo Station to Shimbashi Station, then switch to the Yurikamome line and get off at Odaiba Station.
The Yurikamome line is a train that makes a full loop through Odaiba, making it easy to visit places and tourist attractions around. Remember to get in the front most car of the Yurikamome for an incredible view. You can capture panoramic shots of Tokyo as you travel to Odaiba.
Here we are going to show you the best sceneries we captured in Odaiba during our visit. These are the most charming spots and the best things we did around this lovely place.
1. Odaiba Station
We reached Odaiba using Yurikamome train and get off at Odaiba Kaihin Koen station. This is the closest station to Odaiba Beach Park. It was convenient for us to explore the area by walking.
Even from the deck of the station, the view of Tokyo bay and the surrounding was magnificent. We could see many sky-high apartment buildings while walking towards Odaiba Beach Park.
2. Odaiba Beach Park
Odaiba Beach Park is a large coastal park spanning about 800 m in Odaiba. Although the sandy beach is a man-made artificial one, it is totally similar to a natural beach. This pure white, soft sandy beach is ideal for beach playing.
There are many trees providing plenty of greenery to the beach. It needs to remember that swimming is prohibited in Tokyo Bay, but it’s a lot of fun to stroll and play through the Odaiba beach.
Certainly, this is an ideal place to relax and enjoy a peaceful time admiring the panoramic views of Tokyo metropolitan. You’ll see sky-high buildings, hotels, and shopping malls as far as your eyes can see.
We captured lots of nice sceneries in Odaiba Beach Park. There were many visitors including kids, families, and adults. We could see that some old people who are young at heart, come there alone and enjoy the sceneries in this wonderful beach park.
3. Rainbow Bridge
The Rainbow Bridge is the most beautiful modern bridge in Tokyo. It connects Odaiba to the rest of Tokyo city. It can consider as an iconic symbol of both Tokyo metropolitan and Japan.
The bridge is 798 m long and 580 m wide. Although it is a suspension bridge, it supports an expressway, a regular road, the Yurikamome train line, and pedestrian walkways along both sides.
Above all, Rainbow Bridge is especially fantastic during the night illumination. The towers supporting the bridge are white in color while lights placed on the wires supporting the bridge are illuminated into three different colors, red, white, and green. This color combination gives breathtaking scenery during the night. It uses solar energy obtained during the day for nightly illumination.
4. Statue of Liberty
Odaiba Statue of Liberty is a small-scale model of the famous New York City landmark. This statue overlooking Tokyo Bay is one of the most unique attractions in Odaiba.
This 11 meters high, incredible statue weighs approximately 9 tons. Although it’s about 1/8th in size of the New York Statue of Liberty, at first glance it’s easily visible as the same as the original one.
5. Aqua City
Aqua City is a sprawling, seven-floor complex distinctively pastel-colored shade of earthy pink and orange. It has a food court, restaurants, brand shops, stores, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and cinema complex.
The deck in front of Aqua City offers nice views of the Rainbow Bridge and neighboring skyline, where everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery.
6. Ferris Wheel
Odaiba’s 115 meters high giant Ferris wheel is a wonderful attraction to get a bird’s eye view of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. This Ferris wheel can see from a far distance, even before entering Odaiba. There are some glass-bottomed cabins to enjoy the wonderful sceneries.
The soaring view from this massive Ferris wheel makes it possible for riders to view famous landmarks in Tokyo including Tokyo Tower, Sky Tree, the Rainbow Bridge, and many others.
When you are visiting the Ferris wheel, don’t forget to visit Palette Town, one of the most sophisticated shopping malls with large-scale entertainment facilities in Odaiba. Palette Town has lots of attractions, shops and restaurants that suit everyone. It contains a car theme park called Mega Web and a shopping mall called Venus Fort and many more.
7. Fuji TV
The Fuji TV Building is the most prominent building in Odaiba. This is the headquarters of the national Fuji Television network. It resembles a vast metal framework that suspends an immense metal ball. Part of the Fuji TV main building is open to the public, and it is always bustling with visitors.
There is an observation deck open to the public in the globe-shaped portion of the building and it is highly famous among Odaiba visitors. From this deck on the 25th floor, you can enjoy looking over the scenery of Odaiba. This spherical observation room is one of the best places in Odaiba for a panoramic view of the Tokyo Bay area.
8. Tokyo Tower
The Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower in Tokyo. At a distinctive height of 333 meters, it is the second-tallest structure in Japan. It has a lattice steel structure same as Eiffel Tower and painted in white and orange. It is visible even from a far distance in Tokyo. From Odaiba, there is a clear view of the Tokyo Tower among the Tokyo skyline.
Tokyo tower is particularly beautiful at night. It is illuminated with thousands of different colored lights. It displays “Tokyo” in blinking lights. The tower’s main observatory deck locates at 150 meters and it offers an eye-catching view of the city. There are binoculars to observe the surroundings. As well as some lookdown windows on the floor to stand on, where visitors can enjoy the below area.
9. Telecom center
We could see several buildings with an open space incorporated in the design while walking in Odaiba. The Telecom Center in Odaiba is one of them. It is a large rectangular building with a square space right in the middle. There is an observation deck, which offers views as far as Mount Fuji on clear days.
10. Cruise Boats
One of the best ways to get a nice view of Tokyo is cruising around by boat. These boats travel between Hinode Pier and Odaiba, giving the opportunity to explore the whole Tokyo Bay and skyline.
You’ll see some tourist boats that look like a spaceship or submarine. Cruising is one of the most interesting things not to miss while visiting Odaiba.
Odaiba offers a lot of great things to enjoy in the world’s most sophisticated city with fantastic sceneries. From a visit to the relaxing beach park, bay cruise, and futuristic buildings, experience the best things in Japan during your trip to Odaiba. Here we have bought you the top 10 things we did in Odaiba to help you make the most out of your visit. Wish you all have a wonderful journey to Tokyo’s best sightseeing spot.
