We awoke to bright sunshine and a blue sky morning, quite different from the last few days of generally unsettled and drizzly weather.
As we don’t have to checkout of our hotel until 11:00 we were in no great rush, so breakfast was a leisurely repast of fresh fruit, yoghurt and orange juice whilst sitting on the bed in our petite hotel room.
Today we commence our ‘Japan Discovery’ tour with Bunnik, the same tour company who arranged our highly enjoyable South Korean eleven day tour.
To meet up with the travelling group we need to transfer to another Tokyo hotel called the Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba in Minato City near the waterfront.
With our luggage in tow, we walked to the Shinjuku Station and found the desired JR line with the [JA] Commuter Rapid leaving from platform 1. The train arrived and was jammed packed with passengers but even so we still managed to find a spot to stand with our bags. Incidentally this was at 11:26 which is supposedly after the early morning ‘rush hour’.
At the train’s third stop at Osaki (not to be confused with Osaka!) the train line changed name to the Rinkai Line but unperturbed we ventured on for four more stops to arrive at our desired destination of Tokyo Teleport.
Train stations from Shibuya to Tokyo Teleport
With a sigh of relief that things had all gone exactly according to plan we stopped for a while at the station and had an excellent coffee at a Tulleys Coffee shop.
Tully's Coffee at Tokyo Teleport railway station
From Tokyo Teleport station we had a 900 m walk to our hotel and for reassurance a very friendly female station guide pointed us in the right direction to Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba Hotel.
Corinne with friendly station assistant who helped us at Tokyo Teleport railway station
Although it was before 15:00 we were permitted to check in early. We have a room on the 17th floor with a stunning panoramic view out over the harbour towards Japan’s Narita International Airport.
View from our room at Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba Hotel
Once we’d settled in, we went for a walk in the waterfront area called Odaiba adjacent to our hotel. Our attention was immediately captured by a 12.25 m tall replica of the Statue of Liberty. This was not directly modelled on the U.S. statue but on a French statue located on Paris’ Ile au Cygnes. It was installed in the year 2000 to commemorate lasting Franco-Japanese ties.
Statue of Liberty on waterfront at Odaiba
The setting for the statue is idyllic being surrounded by flower gardens with dozens of tulips and pansies and many cherry trees presently in blossom.
The statue which is actually 1/7th the size of the New York ‘Liberty’ is set against the stunning backdrop of the magnificent Rainbow Suspension Bridge.
To our great joy, at precisely 16:00 the massive harbour water fountain burst into action accompanied by classical and traditional Japanese music.
The fountain is ‘T’ shaped with the longest section being about 500 m in length. The thousands of vertical, transverse and spiralling water jets were choreographed with the music and the effect was most impressive. Small explosions occurred occasionally and accompanied the ejecting of water to the maximum height. The huge number of pipe-lines and hydraulic pumps needed to operate this ‘water spectacular’ was difficult to comprehend.
Water fountain display on waterfront at Odaiba
Water fountain display on waterfront at Odaiba
Water fountain display on waterfront at Odaiba
Fountain hydraulic system, waterfront at Odaiba
Water fountain display on waterfront at Odaiba
Along the waterfront there were ancient steel remnants of mooring chains, admiralty anchors and a number of wading birds.
Water fountain display and ancient steel remnants of mooring chains on waterfront at Odaiba
Greater Scaup on waterfront at Odaiba
Coot on waterfront at Odaiba
We also came upon a hyperactive busker who was performing magic coin and card tricks together with balancing acts whilst juggling knives.
Magician on waterfront at Odaiba
Back at our hotel we showered and at 18:20 gathered with fellow Bunnik travellers for our introductory meeting and evening buffet meal.
Our tour leader is Michiyo Hamada who likes to be called ‘Mitzie’ and our group comprises seventeen people, all from Australia.
We’re looking forward to meeting people and learning names tomorrow when our ‘Japan Discovery’ tour begins in earnest.