Odaiba Sunken Park

Two weeks ago the weather was stunning on a Saturday, so skipped the office and went exploring. I had never been over the Rainbow Bridge or to Odaiba, so I took a trip. Up close, the Rainbow Bridge is much less spectacular than afar. It pales in comparison to the bridges in the Bay Area -- Oakland and Golden Gate bridges.


I was inspired by my previous subway pass that had a picture of this park. It is a very old landfill park in the middle of the Tokyo bay. When Odaiba was built in the late Eighties, this park was reconnected. The foot of the Rainbow Bridge is no more than a few hundred metres from the park's edge.

Oddly built, it has the remnants of a military installation. The outside is walled like the imperial palace, but the inside is actually dug-out to create a sunken area. The bottom of the park must be nearly at water level. I don't know how the water is kept from flooding the center.

Regardless, it was a glorified dog run when I was visiting. Nearly every dog owner had a chihuahua or dachshund, and many had more than one. For all of this dog activity, they were very well-behaved.