Okay, even though I’m no longer over there, I still have a lot of things that I did in Japan that I haven’t posted about, so once more into the breech!
One of the things I wanted to do while I was in Japan was to see the newest “Evangelion” anime movie when it debuted. I didn’t get to go on opening day, but I found out that it was playing at a cineplex in Odaiba, which was a short subway ride from my apartment in Monzennakacho. Odaiba is one of the newest man-made islands in Tokyo Bay, and it was designed to be like more Western mixed-use complexes, with office buildings, shopping malls, hotels, condos, and all very automobile-friendly with parking garages and wide streets. Because it was built and designed after the 1970’s, and because Japan was very forward-looking at the time, much of the architecture is fairly experimental, artistic, and kind of what we used to call “futuristic”. A lot of it has stood the test of time, even though some things seem almost quaint.
Take “Tokyo Teleport”. This is a station on one of the private subway lines going from Tokyo to Odaiba, called the “Rinkai Line”. When I was first in Japan back in 2007 (kind of a futuristic year, now that I think about it) I was amused to find that station on one of the subway maps I saw, and determined to go there! I did get to back then, but my camera wasn’t good enough to really capture the futuristic essence of a place with “Teleport” in its name!
Here are some of the more mundane pictures of Odaiba, but also some of the more futuristic ones! See if you can imagine a 70’s science fiction movie in some of these places!
Tokyo Tower, seen from Odaiba, through the Rainbow Bridge.
view from Odaiba, with a shot of their model of “Liberty”, and a nice shot of the Rainbow Bridge
Proceeding down the Corridor of Tomorrow! ^_^
Heading to the starship loading dock ^_^
And yes, even in The Future, guys do a double-take at the pretty girls…
This was impressive architecture, this a suspension bridge, supported by cables from a single tower (which you can barely see) through the skylight.
Ah, the Teleport Station! Prepare to transport…
And the passenger arrives!
Oh no, a horrible teleport accident! Oh, wait, you mean he started that way? Oh.
As with all of Japan, the station is guarded by both a guard, and a bank of vending machines, all ever at the ready!
If you’re going to build a subway station, you need to make it pleasing to the eye, and to the soul…
My poor photos just don’t do justice to the beauty of the architecture in this station.
Ah Rinkal the dolphin, mascot of the Rinkai subway line. Japanese people have a love of cute things that personify things in their lives…
I… don’t know. A mascot for the station, maybe?
Another mascot, for something…
Other mascots, that I didn’t have time to get details, the train was going to board soon.
Proceeding to the platform, surrounded by beautiful architecture.
It’s art…
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