The trip to "Tokyo Big Sight"

On Saturday, which I guess would be yesterday, I went to "2007 International Robot Exhibition (IRIX 2007)" at Tokyo Big Sight. The journey there takes about an hour and is quite picturesque warranting its own post so I will do that today and delay the post about robots until tomorrow ;)

The first part of the journey, from Kichijouji (吉祥寺) to Shibuya (渋谷) is pretty straightforward and the Keio-Inokashira Line links the two - in fact they are the end points which means taking the express saves a lot of time; the trip is about 20 minutes long. From Shibuya the next stop was Shimbashi (新橋) using the Ginza Subway Line so, no view there. This part of the journey takes about 20 minutes or so.

The last part, which is on the relatively new Yurikamome Line, is the part of the journey with the beautiful scenery since the train goes right by the water and even through the bridge. The stops on the line include Odaiba which boasts the Fuji TV building. There are lots of nice, modern buildings and a great view of the water. I am pretty sure at night the view would be even more amazing so I am definitely planning to come back. I should not forget to mention the ferries as well - it looks like it is possible to get a tour of the city from the sea using these.

Tokyo Big Sight is right by the... well... longest named stop I have ever seen on the JR/Subway Map. Let's see if I get this right - Kokusaitenjijyoseimonmae (国際展示所正門前 - long even in Kanji :P). The building is pretty amazing (both in terms of style and size) and it is impossible to miss it from quite a long distance. It hosts a lot of different exhibitions over the year and it is not unusual to see multiple exhibitions on at the same time (in this case there were 4!). For people who get hungry, the building boasts some stores for quick substinance but walking over to the Yurikamome Line stop which is connected via a bridge and continuing on, there is a huge mall with proper restaurants as well.