Sometimes you look out over the view from your room and everything loks like a diorama or a model of the landscape in front of you
Looking south from the top floor of the hotel, it looks like a highly detailed scale model
Even more so when you look straight down to the street level and the people walking about could be imagined as tiny little figures
The clock face on Docomo tower tells me to run down to the lobby before breakfast is over. Though, if I missed it, it would not be the end of the world
Looks a little healthier than my choices on some of the previous days. Mainly rice and vegetables with some sausages and a bit of rolled omelette. On the side is a cup of miso soup. Not too enthusiastic about their coffee so I didnt partake much unless I needed the caffeine this early
The saikyo line from Shinjuku becomes the Rinkai line at Osaki and has a few stops on Odaiba
This empty gaping hole in the skyline is where a ferris wheel once resided. At one time, it was the largest ferris wheel in the world and now it is no longer in addtion to MegaWeb and Venus Fort, the whole Palette Town complex is being torn down
The next stop from previous is where you disembark for Tokyo Big Sight. This is the home of Comiket summer and winter. The winter event will take place in a few days
While in Hamburg in 2019, I went to Miniature Wonderland where they had scale replicas of different places, real or imagined. With a smaller footprint, Odaiba has Small Worlds
There several distinct sections with the Neon Genesis Evangelion occupying 2 of them
Hence there is a statue of Eva 01 out at the entrance, though not life sized as other statues on Odaiba
The first area is the Space Center. A mix of modern and future motifs centered on space travel
There are buttons in front of the displays to activate the animation. Sometimes you have to strain to find where the motins are coming to life
This is the more contemporary portion of the layout depicting possibly Kennedy Space Center
Most of the areas are populated with mini people. Here we have aliens cavorting with humans. I call them wein-aliens. A feature of Small Worlds is you can have a figure made of you to be placed somewhere on almost any of the grounds
A cycle of day and night is simulated in every part of the attractions. The night highlights the lighting effects set up in each section and may even bring out details you didnt notice before
Tokyo III is 1 of 2 sets dedicated to the anime Evangelion. When under attack from Angels, the city can descend into a fortified subtteranean bunker
Otherwise, the skyscrapers are above ground when they are not on high alert
The outlying areas in the mountains are not afforded the same securities when danger is present
You can imagine a miniature replica of yourself in this scene if you are willing to pay for it
Defenses on the hill have large turrets to help fend off attacks
Some are battleship like armaments with swiveling 3 barrels
Others are like mobilized field artillery units that can withdraw into protective bunkers
Sailor Moon has their own presence in the Azabu Juban area of Tokyo
Scattered throughout this area are the Sailor Scouts. They are on the watch to protect the city
Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon atop a building overlooking the city
Global Village depicts an alpine village in Europe during a snow covered winter festival
From the mountains, it transitions into a city
The airport in Kansai seems to take up the most real estate
The passenger terminal
Planes are taking off and landing while support vehicles motor around the runways
The far background is a video screen with ever changing backgrounds including the northern lights during the night operations of the airport
The different airplanes that can be seen on the runways and terminals
Larger scale models of the EVAs outside the second section of Evangelion Cage including a large bust of EVA 01 busting through the wall
Eva Units 02, 01, 00 human sized
Evangelion Cage displays the launch and retrieval of the EVA units. Lined up in the launch bay then launched upwards
In the maintenance bay for repairs
A command center is situated above EVA 01's maintenance bay
I dont recall seeing any of the EVA pilots: Shinji, Rei, or Asuka
But three other characters make their appearance here
Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi watch on
Geno Ikari's stern looks eminating from his body language
Walked back to Diver City Mall to get a snack before heading over to Shibuya
Previously there were obstructions to the the view of Rainbow Bridge from this vantage point
Gindaco takoyaki. There are a number of sit down full service restaurants at the top level of the mall above the food court situated on the ground floor. Technically, they refer to the food court as the basement level because of other entrances that are a floor above
Unicorn Gundam will protect us from any attack while I snack
Finally I reach Sibuya to see all the changes that has happened while I was away as well as those currently going on.
On a previous visit, Hikarie was already open but Shibuya Scramble Square was still in a state of construction
On the east side of the station is where the building is situated and to the north is the new Miyashita Park
I can clearly see this building from my hotel room
Another new attraction is Miyashita Park along the elevated tracks going in and out of Shibuya
This is a multi use complex of a retail, park, and eateries
Above you have some green, a climbing wall, skate park, and a number of locations to relax on a park bench
In the middle are a number of shops as well as a food court and restaurants
Lastly, at ground level is Shibuya Yokocho. A number of izakayas all grouped together for your convenience.
Originally, I was going to have dinner at Kura. But the wait was longer than expected and there are plenty of kaiten sushi options while in this area. Another cheap conveyor belt sushi place is Uobei. I have actually been here before
Like alot of restaurants in Tokyo since the Olympics, multi lingual tablets will make the dining experience easier for the non native speaking patron
Starting off with the short rib over rice. Sweet teriyaki beef over seasoned rice. It was good but tad too much sweetness
The tempura squid was one of my favorites. A light battered piece of tender squid with a hit of sweet sauce. I enjoyed their tempura offerings so much I ended up with 2 servings of whatever I picked
The seafood salad was a dicey choice. I knew there was going to be alot of mayonaisse and I was right. It was ok and did not earn an encore. Other selections will be shown when I post the video for this day.
Wanted something sweet for dessert so I grabbed the passing jelly. It was tangerine, mikan, flavored. It filled the bill.
As I passed by, I couldnt help but get oden from 7 11. Luckily I chose this opportunity as the warmers of soup stock and oden were no longer visible the following days that I passed the store. The texture, overall, was more firm than Family Mart and the soup stock a bit lighter and not as strong. The price for the two items was identical to their rival. All in all the two stores are about even but I give my thumbs up to Family Mart just becuase of the softer texture
