Odaiba
Odaiba is the largest artificial island in Japan. Odaiba was originally constructed in 1853 by the Tokugawa shogunate as a series of six fortresses in order to protect Tokyo from attack by sea, the primary threat being Commodore Matthew Perry’s Black Ships, which had arrived in the same year. Daiba in Japanese refers to the cannon batteries placed on the islands.
In 1928, the Dai-San Daiba (第三台場) or “No. 3 Battery” was refurbished and opened to the public as the Metropolitan Daiba Park, which remains open to this day.
The modern redevelopment of Odaiba started after the success of Expo ‘85 in Tsukuba. The Japanese economy was riding high, and Odaiba was to be a showcase as futuristic living, built at a cost of over JPY 1 trillion. T3, as it was nicknamed, was supposed to be a self-sufficient city of over 100,000 residents. The “bubble economy” burst in 1991, and by 1995, Odaiba was a virtual wasteland, underpopulated and full of vacant lots.
In 1996, the area was rezoned from pure business to allow also commercial and entertainment districts, and the area started coming back to life as Tokyo discovered the seaside it never had. Hotels and shopping malls opened up, several large companies including Fuji Television moved their headquarters to the island, and transportation links improved.
What is there to see in Odaiba? There are a tone of futuristic looking buildings and shopping complexes there. A big reason why Odaiba is considered a futuristic shopping district is mainly due to the rezoning plan, as stated above, which was to change the outlook of Odaiba and turn it into a shopping district.
A little trivia about this island: This city is featured in the anime series Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02 as the hometown of the first two groups of Chosen Children. The program featured real-life locations such as the Daikanransha ferris wheel, Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Big Sight, and Fuji TV. The location also features prominently in the anime Genshiken, in which the main characters attend Comiket, an event held at Tokyo Big Sight.
How to get to Odaiba? Check out this map:
Source: Japan-guide
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