Odaiba, Sega Joypolis and Toyoto Mega Web, Tokyo, Japan
There was more rain today but it didn't stop us having fun. Sega Joypolis was our first destination, one of many attractions at Odaiba, a man made island in Tokyo Bay. Getting there involved taking the Yamanoti circle line to Omachi and then switching to the Rinkai Line and taking the surface train to Tokyo Teleport. Sounds easy but there was a lot of map reading and head scratching before we got there.
Sega Joypolis is kind of a theme park featuring (of course) Sega related rides, arcade games and slots. It was very entertaining there and the staff were great and approachable and spoke just enough English to instruct us where necessary on the rides and attractions. Entrance cost around £16 for a day ticket. Rides and attractions are free. The slots and arcade machines are reasonably priced, most at just ¥100 (50p). First we tried out a modest rollercoaster which takes you outside the building and then back in. Then we went on the Half Pipe. This cool (free) multiplayer ride involves being swung across a skateboard style half pipe and performing turns with a switch plate when instructed to do so. You score scoring points if you can turn in the centre and 1 point for either side of it. 1 or 2 people can stand on each board. See the video below.
Another neat attraction was a special (free) version of House of the Dead with two screens, one in front and one behind you. 2 players sit in a car which spins around during the action as you battle Zombies from either side, shooting them with guns. Air blows at you when zombies get close and there's a button to press rapidly if they catch you.
Larger attractions, even if video games (such as Out-Run in hydraulic cars) were all free. Only the standard slots, grabber machines and video games needed paying for. We spent quite a few hours in Joypolis and our one day pass allowed us back in later in the day. All indoors we completely forgot about the rain.
There's a ton of stuff to do at Odaiba including walking around the designer shops and Tokyo Bay where they have one of the Statue's of Liberty (yes there's more than one - see National Treasure 2). One definite recommendation is Toyota Mega Web (close by is also one of the world's largest ferris wheels). This is essentially a Toyota showroom but its a great place to go. Again the staff were extremely friendly helping us view the latest Toyota developments. There's also an eco ride where self steering electric cars take up to two people around the complex, outside and then back in again on a circuit. See the video below.