Science Museum in Odaiba (2) - Repeat Visit, Guest Post

A guest post by Grandpa

Note from the editor: today we have a special treat lined up for you, a guest post by Grandpa, about their recent (re)visit to the Miraikan, the science museum in Odaiba.

T & A enjoyed their first visit to Odaiba so much that they offered to act as guides so that Grandpa and Obaachan (that’s Grandma in Japanese) could see it for themselves. For those not familiar with Tokyo, Odaiba is a high-tech entertainment hub on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. There are lots of fun things to do, but our principal focus was to be the Mirai Kan or National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

Since A had written the post on their first visit, Grandpa has offered to write this guest post. T, meanwhile, additionally served as first rate navigator. G&O were happy to let someone else take on the task of finding our way through the Sunday crowds and the ongoing construction in Shibuya Station, as well as selecting which train to take, etc.

We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and, thus, were also able to enjoy very uncrowded “Hanami” or cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo Bay enroute to our destination where we marvelled at cherry trees with red, pink and white blossoms in full bloom -- all on one tree! We even came across some beautiful tulips at their peak, which reminded us of May in Ottawa, thanks to the generous gift of the Queen of the Netherlands.

The Mirai Kan lived up to the hype. The boys did not fail to make a beeline to the fascinating Internet exhibit, while Grandpa “looked into the future” to see how aging might affect his body when he gets old (wink, wink).  Grandpa even almost aced the hearing test by secretly keeping his hearing aids on.

Once we left the Science Museum, T guided us to another type of museum – the Takoyaki Museum. Admittedly, this is not a museum at all, but rather a food theme park devoted solely to “Takoyaki”, the quintessentially Osakan fast food made from octopus rolled up into balls. One of the restaurants served the original Takoyaki which was introduced at Expo70 in Osaka, where Grandpa worked in the Canadian Pavilion.

Our day ended by taking the Yurikamome train over the Rainbow Bridge across Tokyo Bay, while our guide, T, explained the engineering aspects of the bridge. I should add that we also came across a cosplay party in front of the International Exchange Building with some amazing costumes. It wasn’t really part of our visit, but we asked them if we could take their photo anyway as it was so interesting.

PS from the editor: thank you, Grandpa, for your guest post!