From Asakusa, an alternative to walking for reaching Tokyo Bay is to take the Tokyo Cruise Ship water bus. It follows the Sumida River southwards until Hamarikyu Garden and Hinode Pier. It is then possible to switch boat to pass under the Rainbow Bridge and reach Odaiba.
After Yugawara, I stopped at the nearby Cape Manazuru, a small peninsula protruding into Sagami Bay. Apparently, its shape resembles a crane with open wings. At the tip of Cape Manazuru, there is a distinctive rock formation called “Mitsuishi” (三ツ石; Three Rocks). There are also trails in the forest near the rock but I didn’t have time before nightfall. To get there, I took the bus from Manazuru station to the tip of the peninsula and walked down to the ocean and the Mitsuishi rocks then went back to the station by bus.
Above, Cape Manazuru seen from Mount Nango.
Earlier this week, I went back to Yugawara. The goal was to get to to Makuyama Park and its 4000 plum trees, now in full bloom.
Kasai Rinkai Park (葛西臨海公園) is a park built on reclaimed land in Edogawa City, Tokyo. The park includes an aquarium (Tokyo Sealife Park), a bird sanctuary, two manmade islands, a viewing tower and a ferris wheel.
Odaiba is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. It is home to the No. 3 Battery Park (“Dai-San Daiba”), numerous shopping malls, a ferris wheel, a beach (no swimming allowed though…), the Fuji TV building (photo above) and the Miraikan museum, as well as hotels, offices and residential towers. Part of the island is used as a port for cargo ship operations.
The Rainbow Bridge is a 798-meter long bridge crossing Tokyo Bay between Shibaura and Odaiba. It is accessible to pedestrians and can be used to cross the Bay on foot, all the way to Odaiba.
Oshima is an island lying about 100 km south of Tokyo and is the largest of the Izu Islands, a group of volcanic islands administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan government. Like the other ones, it is accessible (among other options) by a high-speed jet ferry that uses the hydrofoil technique: It makes it possible to get there from Tokyo in a mere 1h45. Oshima offers various interesting activities: Among the most popular are the beaches (made of black sand), the onsens and the volcano (Mount Mihara). There are also a zoo, a large camellia garden and a squirrel park.
Last week, I went on a day trip to Kamakura and Enoshima, in the Kanagawa prefecture, not far from Tokyo.
Last Saturday, I went to Yokohama, a port city 30min south of central Tokyo.
Above, the Landmark Tower, the 3rd tallest building in Japan.
