Venus Fort: Tokyo’s quirkiest shopping centre

The man-made island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay is a great place for shopping. It has several large shopping centres which all offer something unique. Venus Fort, with its artificial sky and Venetian themed interior, is Odaiba’s most unusual shopping centre, and one of Japan’s quirkiest malls.

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Aqua City Odaiba Shrine: on top of a building in Tokyo

If there’s anywhere in the world where you’ll find a shrine on top of a large building, it’s Japan. Aqua City Odaiba Shrine creates a great juxtaposition between traditional and modern Japan, and has spectacular views of the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo Bay.

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Diver City Tokyo: the ultimate Gundam experience

Diver City Tokyo Plaza is located on the artificial island Odaiba (お台場) in Tokyo Bay. It also happens to be a place of pilgrimage for many hardcore Gundam fans. Gundam (ガンダム) is an anime franchise revolving around giant robots (“mecha”) known as “mobile suits”. Diver City is home to the only full-size Gundam statue in the world. Right next to the Gundam statue is a Gundam Cafe, and inside the shopping centre is Gundam Front Tokyo – a Gundam museum.

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Mount Fuji: viewing from Mount Tenjo and Lake Kawaguchi

There are many places in Japan to view Mount Fuji (富士山), one of which is Mount Tenjo above Kawaguchiko (河口湖), or Lake Kawaguchi, in the region known as Fuji Five Lakes. Mt Tenjo is accessible by cable car and offers spectacular views of Mt Fuji, as well as featuring several activities. It is also famous for being the site of the folk tale, Kachi Kachi Yama.

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Sky Restaurant 634 (Musashi): fine dining at Tokyo Skytree

Sky Restaurant 634 (Musashi) is a fine dining restaurant 345 metres above ground, on the first observation deck of Tokyo Skytree. Tokyo Skytree is currently the third tallest structure in the world. It’s Japan’s tallest tower, and it boasts the two highest observation decks in Japan. If that’s not enough, you can enjoy a luxury meal with spectacular views over Tokyo and, on a good day, of Mount Fuji.

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The Asahi Beer Hall: aka the golden turd

The Asahi Beer Hall, also known as the Superdry Hall, is famous for the huge golden ‘Asahi Flame’ (or Flamme d’Or) on top of the building. The Asahi Flame is affectionately referred to as 金のうんこ ‘kin no unko’ (the golden turd) and the building referred to as うんこビル ‘unku-biru’ (the poo building) by some locals.

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