Odaiba, Tokyo

Last weekend we headed to Odaiba in search of a sports store to buy some fitness equipment for me to use at home (so that I don't have to walk in the Tokyo summer humid heat to the gym later in the final trimester of my pregnancy). Rob stayed at a swanky hotel in Odaiba early last year when he flew into Tokyo from our then-residence in the Noto to sit an interview for the job he currently has, and he had some opportunity to explore the surrounding area during that short stay, He told me there were some things of interest to see in Odaiba, so our trip there last weekend wasn't strictly a shopping errand (albeit a futile errand because we found out that the sports store had shut down). Rather than taking the cheaper and faster Rinkai Line, we caught the Yurikamome which takes a more scenic route to the artificial island of Odaiba.

View of the Rainbow Bridge from the train; and on the beach (bridge in the distance) which is probably too polluted to swim in but that didn't stop people from going in the water on this hot day:


And artificial it was. There are many things that are replicas of real things such as Little Hong Kong in the Decks shopping mall, the statue of Lady Liberty and the Venice-themed shopping mall called Venus Fort. I'm sure there are many tourists and locals who appreciate having these replicas around in the one place, but to me it all made for a very fake atmosphere and kitsch-y feel.

Little Hong Kong:


The replica of the statue of Liberty; inside the Venus Fort shopping centre:


One of the amusing things Rob showed me was the pet-friendly section opposite the artificial beach. Pet-'friendly' is actually putting it mildly because it seems like the whole area was obsessed with pets. There were pet salons where pets get pampered, have fur-cuts and blow-dry; dog restaurants where owners and their pets can enjoy meals together; and even pet furniture stores for all your pets' needs. It's all really quite OTT, but business were thriving so there is obviously demand for these services (an "only in Japan" scenario?). We went into a shopping mall that permitted pets - one floor where you could walk your pets on a leash, and on the other floors they required you to keep your pet in a bag - obviously assuming that if you own a pet, it'd be one of those miniature animals that are just so kawaii (Japanese for cute). At this same shopping centre, I saw a dog pee and I felt sorry for its owner when she had to clean up the mess with tissues. At least you put diapers on babies and you can clean up the mess in the privacy of the bathroom.

A dog getting its fur-cut in one of the pet salons; one of the pet restaurants:


Anyway, we had some mediocre dimsum lunch in one of the restaurants inside Little Hong Kong. I heard Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese) spoken by the staff so I have no doubt of the authenticity, but the food is nothing to write about.

Some of the nicer dishes we had - pork and prawn dumpling; daikon (aka Chinese radish) cake:


Lotus seed paste bun: