My Present Life: Odaiba, the Island of "Gundam" (Tokyo Part Four)

Odaiba is a large man-made island in Tokyo Bay. Aside from the subway, you can also take a monorail to the island that whizzes several stories off the ground beside skyscrapers and then tunnels through the middle of the Rainbow Bridge. It's a breathtaking ride.

On the way to the monorail terminal, just outside the Shimbashi subway station, was this sight:

C'mon baby, do the locomotion!

Why was it here? Like I mentioned about living in our world without context, the sign explaining why this locomotive was placed here was in Japanese. Without being able to read it, this train seemed bizarre because there was no understanding to tie it to. So much of Japan is like this for me. Much later I found out (thanks to Google) the steam train was placed here to mark the station's historical significance as the original terminus for Japan's first stretch of railway.

Upon arriving in Odaiba, look who was there to greet us:

A 1:1 scale "life size" Gundam robot!

Gundam are robots from the anime series of the same name. This statue was created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series. On certain nights the Gundam is a part of a light show where it moves its head, makes robotic noises, and lets off steam from its jet-pack. Guillermo del Toro recently visited it, too.

Riding the Daikanransha ferris wheel, the fourth largest in the world.

View from atop the Daikanransha.

After a fantastic ride on Odaiba's giant ferris wheel, it was time to book it back to the station to catch the train home. Goodbye Tokyo, until next time!