Oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh Odaiba...

On a whim (and I can do that since it's my vacation) I decided that I hadn't been to my fair Odaiba in a long time (since 2009, I think).  This trip, my primary purpose for the visit was to see the gigantic Mobile Suit Gundam statue in Diver City which is (surprisingly) one thing in Tokyo I've never seen.

Me before heading out:

For those who don't know Odaiba is an artificial or man-made island in Tokyo Bay.  To get there you have to get to the ゆりかもめ line which is a private above ground rail and from my place it is a little under an hour travel time.  You can also get to Odaiba via a Sumida ferry but it is more expensive.  To get there you have to cross Rainbow Bridge which sadly I've never seen at night.  Perhaps that's next on my list.

Once in Odaiba, I noticed there was some interesting kind of festival going on.  Fuji TV is holding it and there is a 50 foot tall statue of Princess Shirahoshi from the popular anime "One Piece."  Turns out she is a slide for kids.  We didn't go in the festival because that wasn't the primary purpose of the visit.

I've never seen "One Piece" but I'm nuts about the mermaid princess.  Why?  Because she's not only a mermaid but a GIGANTIC mermaid bedecked in pink.  What's not to like?

Anyway, on to the GUNDAM!  The Mobile Suit Gundam statue stands 18 meters tall or 59 feet for my American readers.  It is AWESOME!

It stands in front of a Gundam theme park in front of the newly opened Diver City, a 7-story shopping plaza and in front of that stands hoards of people snapping pictures.

I thought I would stand in front of it to give you an idea of it's immense size.  I'm 5 feet 4 inches tall.

In addition to being a popular shopping and gaming area, Odaiba is also home to the very unique Fuji TV building:

Something you might not expect to see in Japan sits in Tokyo Bay with Rainbow Bridge (and Tokyo Tower) in the background, a smaller scale replica of The Statue of Liberty.

Erected to commemorate Japan's good relationship with France.

I hope you enjoyed this mini tour of Odaiba.  There's so much to see and do there that my post barely covers the tip of the iceberg.  If you're ever in my neck of the woods I'll be happy to take you there.