Day 13 – Back to Tokyo: Odaiba, Robots, and Family Fun

Much of our time in Japan had shown us a better way of living: greater organisation, world-class infrastructure, and the quiet efficiency the country is known for. But in one corner of Kyoto, we were reminded that Japan still lives in the real world too.

Opposite McDonald's by the Hachijo Exit, there are two ticket machines. Right next to those are the JR line barriers. And just around the corner are the Shinkansen gates. Add in a narrow path between them all, and what do you get? A complete flustercuck.

McMornings and Madness

For breakfast, we chose the world’s favourite fast-food chain (only because Mos Burger hasn’t yet conquered the world). We lucked out and grabbed four seats just as another family left. Sat at the counter, looking out the window, I witnessed an epic battle of those queuing for a right to travel versus those already doing so.

I won’t lie, as a Brit (cynical lot we are), I quite enjoyed watching the morning mayhem unfold. But our brief window into commuter chaos ended when we finished breakfast and made our way upstairs to catch our bullet train back to Tokyo.

 
The N700 and Mt Fuji, Round Two

There seems to be genuine national pride in Japan’s train service. Not only are the trains fast and on time, but they're also pop-culture icons. I don’t just mean model trains, you can find manga adaptations of them in station shops.

Our sleek N700 train pulled into the station, gleaming in the morning sun. After boarding and stowing our luggage in the overhead racks, we settled in for the highlight of the journey: Mt Fuji. We'd caught a glimpse of it on the way to Kyoto, but with better weather today, we hoped for more.

As we neared the key viewing spot, there it was again. Majestic and snow-capped. The photos don’t do it justice as it appears distant in pictures, but in the train, it dominates the landscape. 

Photo taken at this location

After Mt Fuji, we needed to stay alert—we were disembarking at Shinagawa, not Tokyo Station this time, as it was closer to our hotel: the rather long-winded Toyoko Inn Tokyo Shinagawa Konan-guchi Tennozu Isle.

Check-in by Machine, Coffee by Starbucks

Finding the right bus stop from Shinagawa Station took a bit of effort, but once we were on board, the ride was short. As we walked the 2 minute walk from the bus stop to the hotel we were passed by a shuttle bus the hotel provides to and from the station, doh!

Toyoko Inn is a large, reliable Japanese hotel chain, so we weren’t surprised to find a semi-automated check-in process. Booking reference entered, passports scanned, and two key-cards popped out like magic. Don't be put off by this thought as reception staff were on hand to guide and help those who got stuck.

Our room was spacious enough: one double bed, two singles, a desk, a sofa. The bathroom was a step down from the glorious Resi Stay wetroom, and worst of all—no washing machine. My heart broke a little. I still miss that Haier JW-C55D washer/dryer. Sensing my sorrow, the family knew it was time for a Starbucks snack before heading to our final destination of the trip: Odaiba.

Odaiba – A Childhood Dream Come True

Odaiba represents everything that first fascinated me about Japan as a kid: futuristic buildings, man-made islands, a monorail gliding over the bay. It was the 1980s version of the future brought to life.

And yet, I failed to communicate this wonder to my family. So they followed me and whenever they asked where we were going I just kept mumbling something about “going to see a unicorn”. Which to be fair wasn't entirely wrong.

 
The Unicorn Gundam

The Unicorn Gundam is a life-sized, 20-metre tall mech (yes, a giant robot). I'm not a full-blown weeb, but I'm nerdy enough to need to see this before anything else in Odaiba. It's jaw-dropping, even when static. Why static you ask? Because this huge statue actually transforms several times a day. We missed the transformation show (check this website for times), but honestly, just standing under it is an experience.

 Malls, Monorails, and One Last Robot

After the Gundam, we walked past DiverCity mall (home to the Gundam), then on to AquaCity and Decks. What is better than one shopping mall? Yes, Odaiba has three shopping malls, all in walking distances from each other. Walking on from the Unicorn Gundam we went exploring with our route taking us to dinner with a robot (bit of a theme that day).

Here we saw the famous Fuji TV building plus Monorail. I am aware there’s an observation deck but we didn't have time to visit and as it happens, it was closed on the day anyway. From near the entrance to Aquacity there is an observation deck as well, where you can view Tokyo Bay and the famous Rainbow bridge anyway.

We had skipped shopping in Diver City but perused Aquacity and then Decks on our way to our final destination. Dinner was at Jonathan’s, a family restaurant we'd intentionally saved for the end. We’d passed flashier options, but none had a robot. We hadn’t made it to the famous robot café in Shibuya, but this was a fun alternative. Jonathan's is another affordable family diner restaurant chain. Ordering the most Japanese dishes on the menu (our taste buds had gone full native now) via the tablet we waited for the magic to happen. And not long after ordering our food arrived via Bellabot. She babbled away in Japanese, with it’s digital screen smiling away at us as we all grabbed phones to video and photo this glorified kitchen trolley. 

Limited in her abilities she was still a robot serving us in Japan and with that, we had completed our final “must-do” in Japan. It was over, we had completed Japan and headed back to Toyoko Inn for the flight home in the morning. 

It isn't over until the big mech sings

Back in the hotel rooms we started to pack our suitcases for the flight home. But when I looked at our flight tickets I realised my wife and I had made a mistake. We weren’t flying at 8am but 8pm. We had another day in Japan. There were actual tears of joy, overwhelmed by the emotion of this good news. The question now was, what were we going to do? Day 14