Tokyo 2019: Daiba Park

While at Odaiba Beach I noticed a park area across the water from where I was sitting and that it could be reached on foot. I was intentionally burning time while waiting for rush hour to be over, so I decided to walk over to this place and take a look. My destination turned out to be Daiba Park. Originally the site of a small fort built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Daiba Park is now connected to the rest of Odaiba Island. The fort was built during waning years of the Edo Period to guard Tokyo Bay against foreign warships but based on a brief internet search it seems that it never saw any action. Today the island is covered in vegetation and while you can see roughly what the fort looked like there’s not much left of the fortifications themselves. A walking trail loops around the old fort and from up on the ramparts you can get a good look at the buildings that line Odaiba Island’s waterfront.

Visiting Daiba Park turned out to be an unexpected highlight of my day because I discovered the view of Tokyo that you get from the fort’s northwestern wall. Daiba Park is right by Rainbow Bridge and at sunset and after dark the lights of both the city and the bridge make for a spectacular sight (though if you visit at night be sure to bring a flashlight since there are no city lights at the park). On this particular day I forgot to bring my GorillaPod with me and consequently my photos weren’t all that crisp but I think the two photos I’m sharing in this post give you a good idea of what it’s like to be there. I hung out at Daiba Park for a while after it got dark and then started the walk back to Tokyo Teleport Station, from where I’d begin the ride back to my hostel in the Asakusa district.