Tokyo: Thursday

I tried to sleep in, but I was afraid of missing breakfast. But I did hang around my room until about 11:00 or so. I figure I'd check out Odaiba.

Odaiba. It's an area created from reclaimed land. There are a number of complexes on this piece of land. I visited two of the large shopping malls there. I nearly got lost in one of them by going around in circles (but that was partially my fault). There's a huge, free Toyota car exhibit. Fuji-TV has a building there with a huge sphere that has an observation deck.

One of the shopping malls, called Venus Fort, made my jaw drop when I saw the interior of the place. I had read a description of the place online before I went. It was suppose to evoke an image or feel of Venice. In any case, the main shopping floor was easy enough to navigate. There were a lot of boutiques and designer shops. In one "courtyard" there's this fountain with these statues in it. There were colorful lights making the whole fountain glow. It was actually rather nice. There was a store that sold cute little sweaters and t-shirts for small dogs. Anyway, it looks like there was something for everyone.

Getting to Odaiba is kind of interesting. There's a monorail that runs from Shinbashi to Odaiba. It's a private company so you had to buy tickets separate from JR for it. I opted for the all-day pass for Y800. Afterwards, when I checked out the cost from going from one station to another like I did (to get from one mall to another and back) it was worth it.

Anyway, I managed to kill the entire afternoon in Odaiba. I wonder what I will do Friday, my last full day.

BTW, I won't mentioned what purchases I've made in Odaiba. However, I think a couple of you already know. :p

(Pictures to be posted later.)