After the Gundam giant robot excursion to Odaiba’s Diver City Mall, we took about a 10-15 minute walk to the nearest Tokyo Water Bus stop. Basically, it’s an boat on water that takes tourists to key points of interest. Unlike the average ferry, these “water buses” are designed for optimal enjoyment of the view, so that getting there is definitely more than half the fun.
The outside of the boat is all windows, and there’s even an observation deck on the top. It’s low to the water, so you really see every splash and whirl as you fly over it, even on top of the deck, which is actually the roof of the boat.
Inside the boat, there are plenty of seats, many in the form of booths you would find at a restaurant that can seat about four people, complete with a table for dining. Although they don’t sell bentos on board, I would highly recommend bringing one. Luckily, I had a thermos of hot water and packets of tea, so I enjoyed a little private tea time as I enjoyed the scenery fly by.
Also, while we were riding, there was this adorable old ojisan (uncle/old grandpa) who was explaining all the sights as we passed them. He did it all in Japanese, so I was only able to pick up bits here and there, but it was fun to see him telling jokes and enjoying himself even though he probably did the same routine over and over again multiple times a day.
Unfortunately, our JR Pass did not work on the Water Bus, but it was only like $12 to ride from Odaiba to Asakusa, so it’s not a huge deal. Plus, when we bought our tickets, the ticket sales people were able to communicate with us by just writing down all the times, destinations, and costs even though they couldn’t really speak English, so I didn’t get to use my Japanese skills as much.
Next up, spectacular views from the top of Tokyo Sky Tree.
