After classes and lunch on Friday, 08/03, Dartmouth students went to Odaiba in Tokyo. Odaiba is made up entirely of reclaimed land - it is a man-made island. More than that though, it is a popular shopping and entertainment district. Many Japanese people go to Odaiba to shop and relax, and there are many popular date spots including a Ferris wheel and malls.
Some Dartmouth students who had bought museum tickets earlier went to the Mori building Digital Art Museum in Odaiba during the day. The pictures they took there made for some great Instagram posts!
I went with some other Dartmouth students to look around the malls. We went to DECKS Tokyo Beach mall and wandered the stores there. There were a lot of interesting things, including Daiba 1-chome Shoutengai and a takoyaki museum. We also spent a little over half an hour in the Daiso there. Afterwards, we went to look at the other mall Venus Fort before going to Oedo Onsen Monogatari.
When it became evening, we met up with 7 other Dartmouth students at Oedo Onsen Monogatari. Oedo Onsen not only includes huge indoor and outdoor onsen, but also a foot bath and indoor amusement such as arcades and food stalls. Maxine and Serena, Dartmouth '21s who are not on the LSA+ but happen to be in Japan, joined us. After getting wristbands, which we use to buy food and such within Oedo Onsen, we changed into the yukata that came with the entrance fee and entered the park.
After looking around the inside part, we went to look at the outside foot baths! It was beautiful, and since Oedo Onsen was having a lantern festival promotion, everything was brightly lit. There was also a sections with a bunch of wind chimes and festival games. Some of the Dartmouth students walked in the "Japanese Garden" themed foot bath, which Oedo Onsen claims to be a bath "paved pebbles stimulate your foot as you walk." Many of the Dartmouth students found it fun but mildly painful. Their feet were indeed stimulated though.
Next, we went into the onsen part of Oedo Onsen. It was huge compared to the other places we have been (in Nikko and Apa hotel), and there was an indoor portion and an outdoor portion. There were also two saunas and two salt baths. It was very refreshing, and some of us spent almost an hour there.
Once we got out the onsen, we went to buy and eat food. Since it was already 8pm, many of us were very hungry. They had Japanese food, ranging from tsukemen to okonomiyaki, as well as Korean, Chinese, etc. foods. I had the okonomiyaki, and it was delicious. After dinner, many people got deserts. There was ice cream, shaved ice, and more.
When we all finished eating, we hurried on home, since Odaiba is an hour or two from where some of the students lived. It was a fun and busy day.