It has mostly been glorious spring weather. We caught the subway to Odaiba a couple of weekends back and cycled home via parts of Odaiba I'm no so familiar with and over the Rainbow Bridge. Odaiba is reclaimed land, built in the mid 1800s with a battery to defend Japan from foreign incursion. I don't have a picture of it in this set, but it's ironic, given its history that Odaiba now has a replica Statue of Liberty on the foreshore. Unlike the statue in New York which looks out to the sea, welcoming those who have travelled the seas to arrive, the one in Odaiba looks int to the land, not out to the travellers (not even towards Haneda!) It's quite apt really.
Odaiba is a mix of the sterile with the arcane. It's a relic of the Bubble Economy with some truly out there buildings. Wandering around there are quirks and in some kind of way charm as well. Taking a trip there, it's worth taking a bit of a wander. Like much of Tokyo, you can expect the unexpected.
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| Tulips |
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| Yume no Hashi (bridge of dreams) between Ariake and Palette town. Tokyo Baycourt Hotel. It's pretty sterile looking but there's quite a bit of greenery either side. |
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| The ferris wheel near Palatte Town |
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| Can greenery be sterile? |
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| Odaiba is a young people's playground. |
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| Lots of people dressed up to do photo shoots of themselves... There seemed to be more dressed up / cos play people here that you'd usually find in Harajuku. |
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| October Fest in April... hmmm.. A German friend assures me that there are beer festivals in April, though they're not called Oktoberfest.. |
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| Gundam outside Diver City. I wonder about the proliferation of these kind of outlet shops. The average Tokyo abode is not very big.. where do people put their stuff... |
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| The back of the Fuji building |
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| A liberty flame built in conjunction with the French. I guess it matches the statue of liberty on the waterfront there... I find the monuments to liberty a bit puzzling really. It's not like Japan has a great history of encouraging the pursuit of liberty. |
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| Across the car park to the Maritime Museum |
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| I didn't see the caption for this. I am guessing it is supposed to be something about scales of justice but it looks like something out of Sharia law picture book explanation. |
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| As part of its defence system, Odaiba had a battery outcrop. The remains of it can still be seen in a delightfully green and peaceful headland from Odaiba proper. |
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| A random citizen chilling out |
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| Remains of the cannon battery |
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| A very peaceful escape from the madding crowds of Daiba proper |
4 comments:
Was wondering... When & Where sunflowers were first introduced/ planted in Japan?
According to the Japanese wikipedia they first arrived in Japan in the 17 century. I assume they arrived through Nagasaki from either the Dutch or the Portuguese.
They originated in N. America and made their way to Europe with the Spanish.
PS Thanks for dropping by.
Thank you very much ^_^
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