May2016
Smile
105
Rideaspace-ageboat
When Isawaphotoof the futuristic
Himiko
—aboat that looks likeaspace
cruiser—whileresearching forour
trip, I instantlyknewwehad toride it.
DesignedbyoneofJapan’srenowned
mangaartists,LeijiMatsumoto, theboat’s
panoramicwindowsofferviewsofSumida
Riverand its12bridges.Theboat takes
passengersdirectly fromAsakusaPier to
OdaibaSeasidePark,wheremanymore
kid-friendlyattractionsawait.Ziv’s little
strategy forwaitingout the50-minute
cruise: hitup theonboardsnackbar fora
cupof icecream.
Essential info:
TheHimikoLine (aka
Asakusa-OdaibaDirectLine) isoperated
byTokyoCruiseShipcompany.There
are threedepartures fromAsakusaPier
daily, except for thesecondTuesdayand
Wednesdayofeachmonth.Youcancheck
theschedule, andbookyour tickets in
advance, at
suijobus.co.jp.
Aone-way trip
costs¥1,560 foradults,¥930 forkids
agedseven to12, and¥300 forkidsaged
one tosix.
AsakusaPier isashortwalk from
Asakusastationon theGinzaandTobu
Lines, andfiveminutes fromAsakusa
stationon theAsakusaLine.
Playwithbricks inOdaiba
When inOdaiba,makeabeeline for
theLegolandDiscoveryCenter (Island
Mall, 3F,DecksTokyoBeach).Anyone
withafive-year-oldwillknow this is like
winning the lottery.Wedid thisonour
firstday inTokyo, andZivkeptasking
togobackuntil theendofourvacation.
Oneof thehighlightsofourvisitwas
TheLegoMovie4D:ANewAdventure.
Even if themoviewas inJapanese,
we lovedseeingsomeofour favorite
characters from
TheLegoMovie
—
Emmet,Wyldstyle,Benny,MetalBeard
andUnikitty.
OtherattractionsZivenjoyedat
the indoorplaygroundareMiniland,
whereLegomodelsof familiarTokyo
attractionscanbe found, andhalf
anhourof freeplayatTheLegoFire
AcademyandConstructionSite.
Essential info:
LegolandDiscovery
Center isopen from10am to8pmon
weekdays, anduntil9pmonweekends.
Entry is free forkidsof twoandbelow.A
standard ticketcosts¥2,200, but ifyou
bookat
legolanddiscoverycenter.jp
you
cansaveup to¥700
.
Aside from theTokyoCruise,Odaiba
canbeaccessedvia theYurikamome
Line. Itcrosses theRainbowBridgeand
offersscenicviews.
1
Thereareplentyof things todo inAsakusa,
includingposingwith statues like thisone
2
Ziv shaking the
omikuji
(paper fortune) boxat
Senso-ji
3
Zivblissedout at theLegolandDiscoveryCenter
4
The
Himiko
boat dockedatOdaiba
2
4
3
