Tokyo DisneySea

This article is based on a visit made on Tuesday, 1 April 2014.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Tokyo Disney Resort opened in 1983 with one park, Tokyo Disneyland. It shares its general layout, and most of its rides, with the classic Disneyland and Magic Kingdom parks. A second park, Tokyo DisneySea (東京ディズニーシー, Tōkyō Dizunīshī), opened in 2001. Unlike its older sibling, almost all of the rides are exclusive to this park. The areas of the park are themed around exploration. I’m a longtime veteran of Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line, so I’ve grown to appreciate their "Imagineering", their word for park design. So, for my vacation in 2014, Tokyo Disney Resort was the most anticipated excursion I had planned.

If arriving by train, you’ll get off at Maihama Station and transfer on foot to the Resort Gateway Station. Directly behind that is the shopping complex Ikspiari (イクスピアリ).  Depending on whom you ask, the name comes from the word "experience", or the song title "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins.

A rather funky seating area in Ikspiari.

The Disney film Frozen, titled in Japanese as Ana to Yuki no Jo-oh (アナと雪の女王, lit. 'Anna and the Snow Queen'), had just come out in Japan when I visited.  As a matter of fact, I saw the whole thing for the first time (in English) on the flight out.  If you want to read my thoughts on that movie, visit my other blog here.

The different corners of TDR are connected by a monorail called the Disney Resort Line. It runs in a counterclockwise loop connecting four stations: Resort Gateway (connecting to Maihama on the JR Keiyo line), Tokyo Disneyland, Bayside (adjacent to the hotels), and Tokyo DisneySea. All rides cost ¥260 which, for its length, is a little expensive compared to the other JR and subway lines. Still, it’s worth checking out the trains at least once, not just to get a view of the rest of the resort, but for the train itself: the windows and handles are Mickey-shaped.

It's a Disney park, so of course there are no shortage of costumed characters willing to join you for a picture, even right behind the entrance.

The first zone as you enter the park, Mediterranean Harbor, is based on Venice and Rome. There's some good shopping and dining to be had, but not much in the way of rides, except the gondolas in this depiction of Venice. You can see some in the back of this shot if you look closely.

Moving counter-clockwise, the next zone is the Mysterious Island, based on the works of Jules Verne. Two rides may be found here: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Off to the left before entering Mysterious Island is a fortress dedicated to the real-world explorers of old.

You can even get on this re-production of Leonardo da Vinci's concept flying machine. It does not actually fly, sorry.

Mermaid Lagoon is an indoor area based on The Little Mermaid. The rides aim to a slightly younger clientele.

Arabian Coast, meanwhile, pays homage to the golden age of Arabia, as depicted in their version of Aladdin. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the centre courtyard, where a fountain is topped by a flower statue of the Genie.

Walking through the inner alleys of Arabian Coast reminds me of the Morocco pavilion at Epcot.

In the far back of the park is Lost River Delta, an Amazon jungle-themed area, home to Indiana Jones Adventure and Raging Spirits (pictured). The Indiana Jones ride hosted the longest wait times I witnessed in my trip, topping four hours at most! I wish I had known that it was one of two rides at DisneySea, the other being Raging Spirits, which offer single-rider lines for folks who are travelling alone or do not need to stick with their party.

Continuing counterclockwise from Lost River Delta, we reach Port Discovery, which has a sort of electro/steampunk vibe to it. At the moment it has only one attraction, Aquatopia. There was another ride here, a motion-simulator called StormRider, which closed in May 2016. It will be replaced with "Nemo & Friends SeaRider", a similar ride based on Finding Nemo, a year later.

The final world on my tour, American Waterfront, harkens back to turn-of-the-century America, specifically Cape Cod and New York City. The Cape Cod sub-world is home to a musical revue starring Duffy, the Teddy-bear mascot of DisneySea. Counter-intuitively, American Waterfront also hosts the park’s only Japanese-cuisine restaurant, Restaurant Sakura.

American Waterfront also hosts two of DisneySea's few transplanted attractions. First is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, from Disney Hollywood Studios. (The American original was since re-themed as Guardians of the Galaxy: Breakout.)

The entrance to Toy Story Mania, another transplant from Hollywood Studios, is tucked into the far corner of American Waterfront. According to the crowd forecast sites below, this often boasts the longest lines of the entire park, and FastPass tickets tend to sell out within a mere half-hour of opening time! If you want to give this one a spin, you'd better act fast!

If you hang around, you might catch a water show in the central lagoon. Apart from the daytime one shown here, when night falls they do a version of Fantasmic!, as made famous at Hollywood Studios (once again).

Also, you may have noticed the throngs of people lining the lagoon in the above picture. This was completely indicative of my experience at Tokyo DisneySea. In my day there, I only managed to get on four rides, most of them in Arabian Coast. I only discovered after coming back home that the day I visited, April 1st, fell on the Spring holidays of the Japanese school schedule. The cherry-blossom viewing season, my other reason for visiting in April, did not help matters either, I imagine. So to help you avoid the pitfalls I fell victim to, I have some tips for you to follow in planning a visit to DisneySea:

1. The very first thing you should do when you get into the park is to head to the attraction you want to visit the most, and get a FastPass ticket. It’s important to bear in mind that after you get one FastPass ticket, you will not be able to get another one for some time, so go for the attraction you are most interested in first.
2. There are a few websites you can visit to read crowd forecasts in both Disneyland and DisneySea. http://tdrnavi.jp/forecast/disneysea?lang=en is in English and Japanese. http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/ is in Japanese only, but includes more detailed information about what conditions (holidays, school closings, etc.) will increase visitor traffic, and by how much.
3. Indiana Jones Adventure and Raging Spirits both have single rider lines. If you are travelling alone or do not need to stay with your partner(s), taking the single-rider line can shorten your wait time considerably. Ask the attendant at the entrance about this.
4. Not related, but seek out the different popcorn stalls scattered about the park, and try some of their unique flavours. I got a box of cream soda popcorn, which had a greenish glaze to them but were quite sweet! A single-serving box costs ¥310, and souvenir buckets start at ¥2,000; the buckets are refillable for ¥520.  (NB: Upon checking the regular popcorn menu, it appears the cream soda flavour was a limited-time item which has since been retired. There are many other flavours sold at different places throughout the park; they should be listed on the latest guide maps.)

In conclusion, I would still recommend Tokyo DisneySea. I would, however, advise you to do your research in picking the best time to go in order to beat the crowds and get your money's worth. After all, both DisneySea and Disneyland are some of the more expensive attractions in all of Japan, with a one-day adult ticket costing about US$75 (see below). Mind you, that's still cheaper than the Disney parks in California or Florida, which charge upwards of $100! But this blog isn't about California or Florida, now, is it?

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Hours: Opens 8 AM or 9 AM, closes 10 PM. No regular closing days.

Costs: A one-day adult ticket costs ¥7,500, which includes unlimited rides. Credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and JCB are accepted.  Discounted rates are available after 6 PM on weekdays ("After 6 Passport", ¥4,300 for adults) and 3 PM on weekends ("Starlight Passport", ¥5,500 for adults).

Address: 1-13 Maihama, Urayasu-shi, Chiba-ken 〒279-0031

Access: From Tokyo Station, take the JR Keiyo (JE) Line to Maihama (JE07, 15 minutes, ¥220, JR Pass OK).  The Keiyo line platforms are separate from the main building and connected by an underground passage, so allow yourself an extra couple of minutes to walk to the platforms.
Once you've arrived at Maihama Station, take the Disney Resort Line to Tokyo DisneySea station (8 minutes, ¥260). Or, you can walk from Resort Gateway to DisneySea in 15 minutes.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Decks Tokyo Beach

This article is based on visits made on Monday, 31 March 2014 and Sunday, 13 November 2016.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I covered Venus Fort, one of the major shopping and recreation complexes on the island of Odaiba, in Tokyo Bay. Decks Tokyo Beach (デックス 東京ビーチ, Dekkusu Tōkyō Bīchi), on the northern edge of the island, another such site.

The Decks mall is divided into two halves, the Seaside Mall on the northern/coastal side, and the Island Mall on the southern/inland side. This picture may have been taken on the Centre Deck promenade in between them. The Seaside Deck, on the other side of the Seaside Mall, is a good place to look out over Tokyo Bay back towards the city.

"Daiba 1-chome Shotengai" (台場一丁目商店街) is an entertainment and shopping area on the 4th floor of Seaside Mall. It is designed to evoke nostalgia for the postwar Showa era, in particular the 1950s and '60s.

This corner is dedicated to takoyaki (たこ焼き), which are battered dumplings stuffed with grilled octopus. It is one of the more famous foodstuffs to come out of Osaka, as evidenced by its presence here in Tokyo.

In addition to places where you can sample different varieties of takoyaki, there's this takoyaki ship for kids to climb behind.

A scale replica of the 0-series Shinkansen, the first model of bullet trains launched in 1964, stands in front of these elevators.

This orange structure is a scale replica of the base of Tokyo Tower; the original was completed in 1958. The sign above reads "Cherry Blossom Festival" (さくら まつり, Sakura Matsuri), emphasised by the pink flower garland above the sign.

The entrance to the above arcade, guarded over by a Daihatsu Midget mini-truck and model of the giant robot Tetsujin-28.

An arcade with various types of games, both mechanical and video.

The perimeter of the arcade is lined with pinball machines from different ages. Posters and other adverts adorn the walls above them.

The subjects of those posters include vintage anime and TV shows such as Cyborg 009 (upper-left), Ultraman (upper-right), and Attack No.1 (lower-right).

The store on the left, "I (heart) MJ", specialises in Michael Jackson merchandise.  Japan has always had a unique fascination with the King of Pop.

A home-goods and gift store selling, among other things, a collection of masks.

Up on the 6th floor, there are a couple of internationally-based entertainment attractions.  The Legoland Discovery Centre is an indoor theme park devoted to the famous construction toy.  Operating hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (9:00 PM on weekends), and tickets cost ¥2,500, but are cheaper when purchased online.  Or, if you can't be bothered to buy a ticket, a gift shop is open for free entry, and no doubt has exclusive Lego sets for sale.  More information: (English) (Japanese)

In addition to this location, another Legoland Discovery Centre is based in Osaka.  And, on 1 April 2017, a full-size Legoland park has opened in Nagoya!  More information: (English) (Japanese)

Just across the hall is the Tokyo branch of the Madame Tussaud's wax museum, home to life-size statues of celebrities.  Operating hours are from 11:00 AM (10:00 AM on weekends) to 8:00 PM, and tickets cost ¥2,300, but are cheaper when purchased online.  More information: (English) (Japanese)

Edit 22 March 2017: This article originally contained a description and pictures of another attraction at Decks, the indoor theme park Sega Joypolis.  This has been moved to a separate article with additional content.

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Decks Tokyo Beach

Hours: Varies by store; most stores are open from 11:00 AM to 9:00PM, and most restaurants close 11:00 PM or Midnight. No regular closing days.

Costs: Free entry. Stores accept credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, Diner's Club, JCB, and/or China UnionPay. A currency exchange machine (foreign-to-Yen only) is available in the LAOX store on the third floor.

Address: 1-6-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒135-0091

Access: 2 minutes from Odaiba Kaihin-koen (U06) station on the Yurikamome line, or 5 minutes from Tokyo Teleport (R04) station on the Rinkai line.

Directions: From the exit of Odaiba Kaihin-koen station, turn right and then left. Decks will be directly ahead of you.

From Tokyo Teleport station, turn right (north) from exit A. Follow the walkway for 275m (900ft), and turn left at the dead-end. Decks will be directly ahead of you.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Venus Fort & Toyota MegaWeb

This article is based on a visit made on Monday, 31 March 2014.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I landed on the island of Odaiba, home to many shopping malls and other commercial and entertainment venues.  The first one I chose to stop at was Venus Fort (ヴィーナスフォート, Vīnasu Fōto), located on the southern edge of Odaiba.

Venus Fort is divided among three floors: Venus Family, the first/ground floor, Venus Grand, the 2nd, and Venus Outlet, the 3rd. The names are generally self-explanatory., and may be entered by a courtyard on the building's east side.

An inflatable maze was set up for kids when I was there.

The second floor, Venus Grand, is worth a walk-through even for those with no interest in shopping, as it is designed after an Italian streetscape. The "sky" ceiling changes colour from a day to an evening and night scene and back over the course of every hour. If you've ever been to Las Vegas, it would remind you of the malls at Caesar's Palace and/or the Venetian.

The Fountain Plaza. From the entrance, the mall's layout splits like a ring into two directions, which converge here. The third floor, Venus Outlet, can also be seen here.

The Olive Plaza.

The Church Plaza, at the far western end of the mall. Most of the cafes and restaurants on this floor are centered around this plaza.

Shopping not your thing? No problem! Across from Venus Fort is the Megaweb Toyota City Showcase (メガウェブ トヨタ シティ ショウケース, Megawebu Toyota Shiti Shōkēsu), which serves as a showroom for Toyota cars and a showcase for their new and future automotive technology. The white one on the left is a plug-in version of the Prius. The blue one on the right is their FCV concept, powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The frame of the hydrogen fuel cell-powered FCV concept car, left open like this to illustrate how the system works.

For something a little more hands-on, there are a few driving experiences at Toyota MegaWeb, both real and computer-based. This one simulates a drive from Odaiba to Asakusa, with a few special situations thrown in to get (mostly little) drivers used to the rules of the road.

Another set of simulators, these ones running the game Gran Turismo 6.

In addition to showcasing their new and future car technology, MegaWeb also serves as a showroom for Toyota's latest lineup. You can even test-drive select models on their private course; this requires a Japanese driver's license or an international driving permit. Those under 18 (or adults accompanying children) can instead drive around on a separate go-kart track, learning basic rules of the road in the process.

This chrome-painted Toyota Harrier, sold abroad as the Lexus RX-series, certainly caught my eye, along with the reflections of more than a few lights from above.

The Toyota Century is their flagship luxury car in Japan. An armoured limousine version, called the Toyota Century Royal, was built for the Emperor of Japan. (The Prime Minister, on the other hand, rides in a regular Century or a hybrid Lexus LS600h.)  Also note how the rear-view mirrors are placed further down the hood. This was more common on older cars, but still remains as such on the present-day Century.

The gift shop featured a tie-in with Rush, a film about the rivalry between 1970s Formula 1 racers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Nikki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).

MegaWeb even has their own superhero team, MegaWeb Sentai Vitzranger! Starring... you, apparently!

Other attractions in the Palette Town complex are Zepp Tokyo, a concert venue, Tokyo Leisureland, and the Daikanransha, a giant Ferris wheel.

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Venus Fort

Hours: Varies by store; most stores are open from 11:00 AM to 9:00PM; most restaurants close 11:00 PM. No regular closing days.

Costs: Free entry. Stores accept credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, Diner's Club, JCB, and China UnionPay. A currency exchange machine (foreign-to-Yen only) is available near the LAOX store on the first floor.

Address: 1-3-15 Aomi, Kōtō-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒135-0064

Access: Right next to Aomi station (U10) on the Yurikamome line, or 5 minutes from Tokyo Teleport station (R04) on the Rinkai line.

Directions: From Aomi Station, the central courtyard is directly in front of the main exit, via a walkway.

From Tokyo Teleport Station, turn right (south) from exit A.. Follow the giant Ferris wheel mentioned above.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Toyota MegaWeb

Hours: Open 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Test-drive closes at 8:00 PM, kids' kart track closes at 7:00 PM. No regular closing days.

Costs: Free entry.

Address: 1-3-12 Aomi, Kōtō-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒135-0064

Access: See above.

Directions: Across the courtyard from Venus Fort, on the 1st and 2nd floors.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Odaiba Walk

This article is based on a visit made on Monday, 31 March 2014.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Odaiba (お台場, lit. 'cannon battery') is an island in Tokyo Bay. It is one of several manmade islands built in the 1850s, to protect the city and its waterfront from attacking ships. In the early 1990s, city planners attempted to develop the island into a futuristic residential and commercial zone, but progress on that front slowed to a halt over the next few years. From the end of the decade, however, the area was revitalised by a series of shopping malls, entertainment complexes, and hotels.

A 7300-series Yurikamome train approaching Ariake Tennis-no-Mori Station.
By Nyohoho [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Odaiba is served by two transportation lines. When I visited, I took the Yurikamome (ゆりかもめ, lit. 'black-headed seagull'), pictured above (image from Wikipedia). The Yurikamome has been described as a monorail, but this is incorrect; it runs on rubber-tyred wheels along an elevated track, guided by side walls. It is, however, completely automated.

The first few segments of the Yurikamome run parallel to other lines, including the high-speed Shinkansen. This is an N700-series Shinkansen, the latest model to run on the Tokaido line, between Tokyo and Osaka.

The Yurikamome track then loops around part of Tokyo Bay, giving a view of the ships docked below.

Afterwards, the Yurikamome travels along the Rainbow Bridge (レインボーブリッジ, Reinbō Burijji). Opened in 1993, the Rainbow Bridge spans the Tokyo Bay. At night, the spans are lit up either in white or in a rainbow pattern.

I got off at Daiba Station. From this angle, facing northwest from the island, the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower can be seen. But what's that off to the right...?

Yes, that is a replica of the Statue of Liberty. This is actually one of many official replicas built by the French government, which made the original one for New York Harbour in 1886. One way this differs from the original, apart from its size, is on the tablet. The dates here refer to the American Revolution (4 July 1776) and French Revolution (14 July 1789).

Odaiba is famous for its futuristic architecture. In the foreground is the Aqua City shopping mall, and in the background is the Fuji TV building. The sphere in the latter houses an observatory open to the public.

Even more architecture. The arch-like building in the far background is the Telecom Centre, a multipurpose office building. The Tokyo Big Sight convention centre (not pictured), which hosts regular events such as Comiket and AnimeJapan, is also nearby, on the next island over.

A full-scale statue of the RX-78 robot from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. It stands in front of the Diver City mall, which also hosts the Gundam Front attraction.

Edit 11 June 2018: The Gundam statue seen above was removed and replaced with a new one, based on the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, in 2017. The Gundam Front attraction mentioned above was also replaced with Gundam Base Tokyo, a store specialising in "Gunpla", plastic model kits of Gundam's robots.

The Cirque du Soleil production Ovo ran here in Odaiba, from 12 February to 29 June 2014.

Palette Town is an entertainment complex hosting, et al, the Venus Fort shopping mall, Toyota Mega Web, and a 115-metre (377-foot) tall Ferris wheel called the Daikanransha (大観覧車, lit. 'giant sky wheel').

At night, the side walls of Venus Fort light up in patterns such as this...

...as does the Daikanransha.

Even more coloured lighting in a tunnel entrance to Palette Town.

Closing out this article with a night shot of the Gundam Statue again. There is so much to see and do in Odaiba that I'll have to dedicate a few articles to specific sites!  I shall start with the Venus Fort mall, and its Toyota MegaWeb attraction, next time on Sekai Ichi!

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Access: Two lines serve the Odaiba district. The Yurikamome (U), mentioned earlier, is an above-ground line running between Shimbashi (JR Yamanote (JY), Tokaido (JT), Keihin-Tohoku (JK), Yokosuka (JO), Tokyo Metro Ginza (G), and Toei Asakusa (A) lines) and Toyosu (Tokyo Metro Yurakucho (Y) line) stations. The sites covered in this article are nearest to the Odaiba Kaihin-koen, Daiba, and Aomi stations.

The other line, the Rinkai (R) Line, runs underground between Osaki (JR Yamanote, Saikyo (JA), and Shonan-Shinjuku (JS) lines) and Shin-Kiba (JR Keiyo (JE), Musashino (JM), and Tokyo Metro Yurakucho lines) stations. It does not offer the same scenic views as the Yurikamome, and only stops at one station on the island, the centrally-located Tokyo Teleport station.

From Tokyo Station, take the Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku lines to Shimbashi (JY27/JK24, 3 minutes, ¥140), and then take the Yurikamome to your desired stop (13-20 minutes, ¥330-390). From Shinjuku Station, take the Saikyo line to Tokyo Teleport (R04, 23 minutes, ¥510). Most trains continue on to the Rinkai line to reach Tokyo Teleport; if your train does not, transfer at Osaki Station (JA08).