Odaiba
An 1853 cannon fort built to repel Commodore Perry's Black Ships now shares an island with a 19.7-metre Gundam statue.
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Tokyo's strangest waterfront is entirely artificial — reclaimed land that began as Tokugawa-era artillery batteries and became a 1990s leisure district. Walk a surviving fort from 1853, then cross to a 19.7-metre Gundam statue and one of only two accessible urban beaches in the city, with the Rainbow Bridge framing the skyline.
What to look for
- Metropolitan Daiba Park: the No. 3 Battery, a cannon emplacement completed in eight months in 1853 to defend Edo, refurbished and opened to the public in 1928
- The 19.7-metre Gundam statue outside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza — a useful landmark for orienting yourself on the island
- Fuji Television's headquarters, a major attraction on the island with a distinctive building designed by Kenzo Tange
Reach Odaiba via the Yurikamome elevated rail line or across Rainbow Bridge; the beach is open to visitors but swimming is prohibited.
Odaiba is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Tokyo, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Tokyo pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Tokyo
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon TowerA 50-story school curved like a cocoon — white aluminum and dark-blue glass, criss-crossed by diagonal white lines — that beat 150 rival proposals and won Skyscraper of the Year.
- Tokyo SkytreeAt 634 metres, the height isn't random — 6-3-4 spells "Musashi," the ancient name for this exact corner of Tokyo.
- Tokyo TowerA third of its steel came from US tanks scrapped after the Korean War — Japan's postwar recovery, painted orange and bolted into the sky.
- National Diet LibraryBorn in 1948 as a "citadel of popular sovereignty," Japan's national library holds 12 million volumes — and anyone can walk in.
- Akihabara (Electric Town)The black market that outgrew itself and became Japan's otaku capital.
- Tokyo National MuseumOne in ten of every artwork Japan has ever officially designated a National Treasure lives here.