Shonan Monorail

The Shonan Monorail, in my opinion, is another cheap thrill in this area of Japan. For for 600-yen round trip you can take the monorail from Ofuna to Enoshima and back. The neat thing about it is that it hangs from the top. That does not make for a smoother ride.

There is the Ofuna Kannon in the distance.

The station platforms just kind of hang out there.

That's looking out the back.

A beautiful view for less than 500-yen!

I have mentioned how much I like Odaiba more than a few times in this blog. This is another one.

When the weather is nice, we like to take the Yurikamome line from Shimbashi Station over the Rainbow Bridge to the Odaiba area and then take a water bus under the Rainbow Bridge back to Hinode. The Hinode boat dock is about a 5 minute walk from the Hinode Station on the Yurikamome Line. From there it's only a few stops back to Shimbashi.

That deck in the picture above is where you board the boat. You purchase the tickets on the dock there. A ticket from Odaiba to Hinode is 460-yen.

That's the Fuji Television building with the big round ball there.

Giant robot invades Tokyo. Story at 11.

Okay, don't panic....but there is an 18-meter robot keeping watch over Tokyo!
I mean, I've seen movies about this very thing (Godzilla anyone?), but never in person!

This robot's name is Gundam and it is built to scale. Gundam is a popular character here in Japan. I saw several kids with Gundam on their shirts. He is on the edge of Tokyo Bay ahead of a comic convention at the near by Big Site. Apparently that convention will be on the 21st. Gundam will stand his post until the end of August.

It was extremely hot today. In the article I read about it it said says Gundam shoots a cooling spray of mist. If it did, we never felt it. The eyes light up and the head turns from side to side and the robot speaks. I couldn't hear it clearly enough to understand it, but it did get very quiet when the speech started.

To get there, head to Odaiba. Gundam is 18-meters high, so it's pretty hard to miss. If you're coming via the Yurikamome line, get off at the Daiba station.

What the heck is he doing with that baby doll?

This post will be remarkably sparse on information as I'm not sure what this is.... and this was our second time visiting this. We happened upon this last year as well.


Yeah, I have no idea either.

I can tell you that if you happen to be near the a television studios at the Shimbashi area, this is one of the things you'll see. Have your picture taken with her/him/whatever.

You're invited to play some games as well, but you need to speak Japanese.

Twentieth Century Boys, have your picture taken here! They were promoting the film here. Last year they were promoting a 3-D movie.

For everyone who has ever wondered what a Shamisen (Sanshin for my Okinawan friends) sounds like when played with a baby doll.

We actually took lessons to learn to play the Sanshin. Not once did our sensei ever teach us this!