This day was my favorite day in the trip. We managed to fit in so many wonderful activities in. We spent the morning in Odaiba at the teamLab Borderless Exhibition. We arrived before the exhibition opened. Tickets were purchased on Klook and we were ready and raring to go in.
We noticed that there were lots of school kids in attendance and plenty of tourists. The lines for the entrance were long. We were glad we got to the exhibition slightly earlier with pre-purchased tickets.
You are allowed to photograph and take photos within the exhibition.
It’s such a mesmerizing exhibition. The moment in step foot into the illuminated dark rooms, you feel a sense of out body sensations. The lights, the colors and the moving images are incredible. I have never been to an exhibition like this. The first five minutes had already blown my mind.
There is no need to learn Japanese to fully enjoy this exhibition. Most of the experience is visual. Just let your eyes follow the moving images and let your ears listen in tune with the soothing background music.
The day we went, there was quite the crowd. So it will be hard to capture the big spectacles without someone roaming into your shot. The other thing was that it was difficult to take people shots or selfies, because the rooms are very dark.
I highly recommend attending this exhibition. You definitely get your moneys worth. It is amazing space to be.
I found myself walking aimlessly around the labyrinth and coming across new interesting rooms. There are maps, but I opted to go mapless to really feel like a lost puppy.
Make sure to check ever corner and doorway, behind some black cloths/sheets are some amazing rooms that can’t be seen in the main area. Each area has its own theme and immersion.
There are at least two levels to this exhibition. The upper floor has heaps of interactive activities like a slide, balloon and floating montage (of people’s drawings) areas. The most popular attraction was the lantern/lamp room. There was a crowded queue to get in. You don’t get long in the room, but as you can see, it’s an amazing space.
We spent a few hours at teamLab Borderless Exhibition. You can watch my experience of this exhibition on YouTube below.
Afterwards, we walked through Venus Fort, which is a shopping center with a Roman theme to it. It was a really cool place to walk through.
At the end of the shopping center is this building with a fake sky. Here there were plenty of restaurants and this intricate looking vista.
Another shopping center is the Diver City Plaza. If you spot it, you can’t miss the giant Gundam at the front. Here you will also find a small van that sells Gundam merchandise.
However, if you find the merchandise not to your looking. You will probably have better luck inside the Plaza. Here, you will find the The Gundam Base. There were heaps of Gundam merchandise to be bought inside. The store was massive.
We had reserved a lunch time session at Kaishoku Michiba. This restaurant, located in Ginza, is one of two restaurants from the famous Iron Chef Japanese himself, Michiba Rokusaburo. If you have seen the Iron Chef series, in Japanese or the hyper energetic English dub, you know this chef was a formidable chef against any challenger.
If you want to read my full experience, you can read it here.
Kaishoku Michiba is usually very busy. The photo below shows the end of lunch service and we were some of the last people to leave.
You need to book in advance if you want a seat at this restaurant. You will need at least a month’s advance booking to secure your spot.
If you want a good value kaiseki experience, look no further than Kaishoku Michiba. Also, you want to book your session during lunch, otherwise expect a hefty increase in price for the dinner session.
I had a Goho-zen, which was 3,000 yen per person. There was plenty of food for me. I opted to have the roast beef on rice, which had a surcharge of 1,000 yen. Boy, was it worth it.
We had an amazing time at Kaishoku Michiba. I would be keen to bring people back to this joint again.
Our final night in Tokyo and ultimately Japan was at the luxurious Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa Hanakohro in Shinagawa (south of Tokyo). Here, there were four hotels. We happened to stay in the exclusive hotel which hosted a Japanese ryokan setting.
We had our own check-in and private lounge. From start to finish, we felt very well indulged and treated.
When we checked in, we had our own attendant greet us and tell us everything about our stay, while our hosts provided us with tea, snacks and some hors d’oeuvre.
We had this private lounge to ourselves. All the drinks, including alcohol, was available to us. Plus, we had snacks and desserts available in the box at the back. We had macarons, cakes and various Japanese desserts.
Here was the hors d’oeuvre we were served each. After we finished, our host offered us green tea and a red bean dessert.
We had access to this private lounge, but we also had access to all the other lounges of the other three hotels. Plus, we could access any gym, pool, spa or other amenity we wanted. We felt like we had the golden ticket to do whatever we wanted.
We absolutely loved our stay. It is expensive to stay at Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa Hanakohro, but it is worth it if you are able. You can read more about my stay here.
Stay tuned for the final day, Day 20 – Tokyo – 8 July 2019 – morning at Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa Hanakohro and Rabu Ginza.
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