2014/05/21
Day 3 we are headed to Odaiba!
Since we would be moving around quite a lot today we bought a one day ticket for the Yurikamome Line (ゆりかもめ) which means a black headed seagull. So around the station was many sightings of its mascot.
& the cutest one is this little guy (or big lol), the mascot for a sweets shop, Yurikamome no Tamago.
First Stop : Decks Tokyo Beach デックス東京ビーチ
There are a couple of shopping malls around the Odaiba area, first we arrived at Decks Tokyo Beach. The building is split into two themes, the seaside mall and the island mall. Seaside has more entertainment and food areas, whereas island is more for shopping.
On the 4th floor is where we spent most of our time. This floor is pretty much divided into two areas, the ichi chome shopping district (一丁目商店街）and the takoyaki museum.
Walking in the ichi chome shopping district feels like we have travelled back in time to the streets of the Showa era.
There were candy shops, grocery stores, a train station, and many more. It was really interesting seeing what things were like back then.
mom loving it
There's even a model of what a porch would look like in the Showa era.
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Now towards the Takoyaki museum...
Easily the coolest museum ever lol.
It has its own takoyaki mascot! & it's adorable.
いけ！ たこ焼き君！HAHA
Of course like any other museum, it has educational information as well as food stands! (the best part haha) YAY~
We ordered the variety set, with four different flavours so we can try each of them out. I couldn't remember which stand we ordered from, but imo, they were all pretty similar.
The most exciting thing about this place is... they have their own takoyaki shrine!
whaaat?!
It is just a tiny little shrine right beside the entrance to the place, but I love it ♥
At the takoyaki shrine, one can wish for good luck on fortune and destiny.
After having a nice stroll around the area, we went to Venus Fort which is just nearby.
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Second Stop : Venus Fort
The interior of this shopping mall is designed to look like one has travelled to an European country. The fountains, white pillars, and the sunset sky provides a dreamy atmosphere for any perfect shopping day!
It was around lunch time so we found a place to get some food.
Chirori Cafe is indoors, but the whole cafe utilizes an open space concept if that makes sense. It is also pet friendly, as it states "casual restaurant with dog" (lol). So one can dine with their dog at their seating area.
On top of that, they even have a separate menu just for our little furry friends! How cute and thoughtful is that?
We weren't super hungry so we ordered a plate of hamburger curry omrice to share. It was good, I think pretty much anything in Japan tastes delicious lool.
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Third Stop : Ooedo Onsen 大江戸温泉
Skipping to our next destination, it is finally time for the onsen experience!!
The Ooedo Onsen is located a couple minutes away from Odaiba station, it is very convenient to get to, and they even have a free shuttle bus service!
Once you go inside, there are lockers on the left for you to leave your shoes in, and on the right is the ticket counter. All the decorations in the building resembles traditional Japan, the umbrellas, the lanterns etc.
At the back, after buying the tickets, you can choose which yukata pattern you would like to wear. I've always wanted to wear a yukata, and this is such a great opportunity since they offer some really pretty prints.
In the changing room, there are more lockers available to leave your belongings in and on the walls are instructions to putting on the yukata correctly.
Once dressed, we are ready to go inside!
warp
warp
warp
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you have travelled back in time to the edo area...
LOL okay but really, the interior is amazing. Apart from the onsens, there is also a variety of food, game, and small knick knack stands, much like those summer festivals. Because there is so much stuff to do in here, one can literally stay here for an entire day without being bored.
In front of the entrance to the onsen door was a vending machine selling canned ramen, udon, and oden! I've been trying to find these since the last time I visited Tokyo!! Make sure to buy it if you like to try out new things haha.
...because we forgot about it QQ D;
Another thing, a foreigner came up asking me in perfect Japanese to help take a picture of their group of friends. Like fluent af.
Feeling confident in my basic Japanese skills, I just said ok and took the picture, but then he decided to be nice and asked if we wanted a picture taken.. It all came too fast, I couldn't understand so I told him I speak English lol..
Idek how embarrassing that is.. I need to stop pretending I am Japanese. :l
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There was a big open air common bath as well as a foot bath and various other spa-like treatments.
I personally cannot stand the heat that well so I only had a few dips in the common bath and wanted to leave lol.
After the onsen, it is a must to have some milk! It is a tradition?
We got the original milk and coffee milk.
Other than the aforementioned, there is also a rest area by the back.
A nice and quiet tatami room.
There were actually people sleeping on the mats haha, I guess they are tired from the onsens?
& uh photo taking in session...
Heres a cheeky photo of the back of the yukata. The talented mom tied it in such a pretty 3D ribbon, which I tried to recreate 5 times and still looks like shit. lol
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Last Stop : Diver City
Our last stop today is another mall in Odaiba, Diver City. It was raining and the sun has set, so we quickly headed inside for more shopping business.
Due to the weather, we were too lazy to find a place outside for dinner, so we headed to their food court and ordered some tasty food!
We got an okonomiyaki (left) and a hiroshimayaki (right). Hiroshimayaki, instead of just flour and toppings, is made of yaki udon, a little bit different than what you would expect!
As always everything tasted great, besides the fried chicken, which was a bit on the dry side. :(
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Diver City is probably most famous for the giant full-size gundam model/statue at the front of its plaza.
I'm not really a fan of gundam, but if I do say, the statue looks mighty majestic, it even shoots out lasers from it's eyes!
They actually stage shows everyday at specific times, if you are a gundam fan, make sure to check the schedules on the official site so you don't miss out on the fun!
DAY 3 - ODAIBA 台場, VENUS FORT, OOEDO ONSEN 大江戸温泉, DIVER CITY
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