Tokyo - Odaiba

Odaiba (Daiba), literally meaning "fort", refers to some of the man made islands in the Bay of Tokyo, which were constructed in the end of the Edo Period (1603-1868) for the city's protection against attacks from the sea.
During the extravagant 1980s, a spectacular redevelopment of the islands into a futuristic business district was started, but development was critically slowed down after the burst of the "bubble economy" in the early 1990s.
It was not until the second half of the 1990s, that Odaiba developed into one of Tokyo's most interesting tourist spots and the highly popular shopping and entertainment district, which it is today. Further development of the area is still underway.
Directions :
Access to Odaiba can be an attraction by itself, as the views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo's harbor and waterfront area from the Yurikamome (un-manned, elevated train with rubber tires, which connects Shimbashi Station on the JR Yamanote Line with all of Odaiba's attractions and Toyosu Station on the Yurakucho Subway Line)or boat are quite spectacular as it uses the rainbow brige to get to Odaiba.
Picture taken from Yurikamone- unmanned train

Cost :A ride from Shimbashi to Daiba takes 15 minutes and costs 310 yen in the Yurikamone. If you ride it more than twice, a one day pass for 800 yen is likely to come cheaper than single tickets.
1.Fuji TV Building - This is the headquarters of Fuji Television, one of Japan's private, nationwide TV stations.
2.Museum of Maritime Science - Housed in a cruise ship shaped building, the Museum of Maritime Science displays seafaring related exhibits from the past and future.
3.Decks Tokyo Beach - Decks is a shopping mall featuring various stores, boutiques, cafes, and restaurants
4.Aquacity Odaiba - Aquacity is a shopping mall featuring various stores, boutiques, restaurants, cafes and a 13-screen cinema complex
Decks Tokyo Beach and Aquacity Odaiba

5.National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation - This well done, highly interactive and bilingual science museum includes exhibits about environmental issues, robots (starring Asimo among others), IT, biology and space exploration
7.Palette Town - This shopping and entertainment complex consists of Venus Fort (is a shopping mall in the style of a 18th century South European town), Sun Walk, Mega Web(Toyota showroom), a Ferris Wheel and Zepp Tokyo, a large concert venue.
At the Venus fort

At the Venus fort (painted sky)
At megaweb(Toyota showroom)

6.Telecom Center - The Telecom Center is a major hub on the information highway with several large satellite antennas on its observation deck.
8.Odaiba Kaihin Park near the Rainbow Bridge includes an man made sand beach.
Performance at the man made Beach
Sunset at the manmade beach
Access to Odaiba can be an attraction by itself, as the views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo's harbor and waterfront area from the Yurikamome elevated train or boat is quite spectacular.
Picture taken from Yurikamone – fuji tv building, Ferris wheel
From Yuricamone-Rainbow bridge

Places to see in Tokyo

Tryst with Tokyo

Japan
I had been to Tokyo, Japan on work for 3 months . To say that the country needs adjustment is an understatement! Every thing in the road, supermarket, train station and restaurant is written in Japanese! Not very tourist friendly if you compare it with some of the European or Asian countries. Having said that, if you know what to expect there and are prepared for it; you will fall in love with the country, I did!
Tourist attractions in and around Tokyo include:
Odaiba
Akihabara
Tokyo Imperial Palace
Tokyo Tower & Zojo-ji Temple
Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) season
Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shibuya (Yamanote Line)
Day trip trip to Kamakura
Day trip to Hakone

Long time!

I have not been updating my blog recently. Guess with an 8 month old and work pressure I am being a bit over ambitious. Anyway, partner was leaving to Johannesburg SA and I was trying to browse the net on what to see there in the evening. Couldn’t find much easily so thought I would do my bit to write about the places I have seen. That way can be useful to people who might want to know what to do when they are there. Also I guess it will be nice to go back and read about the trips at a later date. So the next few blog updates will be on places seen.

Shopping among terrorists

Read the Amit Varma blog and found his open letter on security at malls very interesting!
Find the excerpts from the letter copied below and u can find the full letter here.

“I enjoy visiting you, and I support your new initiatives to tighten security in the wake of recent terrorist attacks. I don’t mind being frisked or having my bag checked: the few extra seconds we all wait individually are worth the collective safety we gain.
But why do you think that terrorists enter only from front entrances?
If someone drives into the parking lot and takes the lift up to the mall, there is no check on him at all. …”

How true.. Go to the Inorbit mall in mumbai and no one checks u if u come from the basement.I hope these terrorist jokers dont get any ideas from this post!

The million dollar question..

The relationship between a married woman and her mom in law has always aroused my curiosity. I have often wondered why MILs are always looked at wearily the world over and more so in India. I had a chat with a close friend who just couldn’t understand why her MIL treated her and her SIL differently. While I was empathizing with her I wondered if this was a common problem or something which was unique to some families.
It was one of those usual busy mornings when the only breather you get is during your travel to work, I broached this topic with my partner (who had this ‘oh no, I don’t want to get into this’ look on his face).Guess what ..as usual luck favored him, what better timing to get a call from work! He gleefully excused himself from the conversation, but that did not deter me from this particular line of thought...

Do mothers have separate rules for their own daughters and separate ones for their DIL?

I threw this question at the coffee table at work and judging by the nods I got I realized that it did look like a problem majority of women had! After listening to all the discussions and possible explanations what struck me was one explanation from a friend.Her theory was that mothers always think that their daughters (poor dears..) are always adjusting in the new homes/husbands after they get married. The same logic is not applied to the daughter in law as the home in question is their son’s and in this case the DIL becomes the lucky woman to get such a husband!(i know what u r thinking girls..ya right!)
I found this particular explanation totally understandable as moms do tend to think their kids are the best things that can happen to mankind! I have seen it at my own home, seen it at my husband’s home, seen it at friends/neighbor’s homes and the more I think about it the more I am convinced that I have cracked the proverbial question! What do u think? do let me know!

The Talwars, Police and Media

I have had a disturbing week… however much I think about this Noida murder and the police reasoning it doesn’t sound right. I fail to understand how a father, an educated doctor, can do such a dreadful act. The truth is I don’t want to believe this version. Unless proven guilty in my mind the parents of the child are grieving parents and following that viewpoint I feel very sorry for the parents who cant even grieve for their loss in peace!

I don’t want to think of the surprise I felt when I heard the mother Nupur Talwar talk of the murder to a news channel. While Nupur showed all signs of a woman with a lot of strength what with her family torn to pieces (her daughter murdered and her husband in jail as the prime suspect) I must say I was guilty of judging her as being unemotional about the whole thing. Though the thought that she must be numbed by the series of events did occur to me later I am sorry to say that I had this uncomfortable feeling when I saw her tough exterior which was portrayed by the news channels. I guess I am as guilty as the media for acting like Sherlock Holmes!

Anyway I follow this case very closely not because of its sensationalism but because I want to know for a fact that Arushi’s dad did not kill her. And if that is true my heart goes out to the parents who have suffered so much..

The Bhang effect of Kite Runner

Had a long weekend (Holi + Good Friday + Eid ) and spent the time reading two books the ‘Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini and ‘The Caterpillar Who Went On A Diet And Other Stories’ by Ranjit Lal. Quite an eclectic mix of reading I must say, for while one was funny, refreshing and easy read the other was more serious and got me all philosophical!

The Kite Runner is a heart wrenching story of friendship, betrayal, guilt and redemption between two boys Amir and Hassan from Afghanistan. Amir is a wealthy Pashtun, and Hassan, his servant, is a Hazara . The story revolves around Amir who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan. Amir's close friendship and lifelong shame is at the heart of the book. It is a relationship that haunts Amir from Kabul to California, where Amir and his father move after the Soviets invade Afghanistan. When Amir receives a call from his father's business partner Rahim Khan, he sees it as a chance to redeem himself from the secrets that have always shadowed his mind.
The story clearly shows Amir’s privileged child hood where he is the kite fighter who rules the skies while his kite-running partner Hasan races down streets to own all their opponents' unmoored, sinking trophies. Towards the end of the novel when Amir leaves to Kabul in search of Hassan's lost son, the contrast with his sheltered kite-flying youth could scarcely be more pronounced. The book shows how Amir, who grew up being served, had learned how to serve others. He knew that the mistakes he made in the past had been forgiven, and that allows him to be able to forgive himself.
Another interesting point to note is that Amir felt ashamed that he did not stand up for his friend Hasan but in order not to be constantly reminded of his shameful act, he further wrongs him by falsely blaming him for a theft! Call it child psychology, hunger for his father’s love or plain jealousy ( as his father seems to like Hasan more than Amir) but it does give you an insight into the workings of human psychology! The book also brings to light the rich culture and history of Afghan and the oppression of the Hazaras by the Pashtun and then in the hands of the Taliban.

To sum up my experience reading this book, i could feel every emotion that Amir and Hassan experienced as my personal experience. The decisions that each of them had to make, I felt that I had to make. This is especially true for the character of Amir, as the story has been narated from his point of view. I could literally feel every emotion that he described.
Kite runner makes you search yourself, and ask yourself what kind of person you are? Would you do the same in Amir or Hassan's place?
And finally the line ‘For you a thousand times over’ … sigh, read it u will know what I mean!
Update did some research on Hazaras :
Hazāras are people residing in the central region of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They are predominantly Shia Muslims and are said to have Mongolian descent. They are found in large numbers in neighboring Iran, primarily as refugees, and as diaspora around the world.
In their modern history, Hazaras have faced several wars and forced displacements. Since the beginnings of modern Afghanistan in the mid 18th century, Hazaras have faced persecution from the Pashtuns and have been forced to flee from many parts of today's Afghanistan to Hazarajat.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, an international coalition intervened in Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power and effectively saved the Hazaras from ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Taliban. Since then, the situation for Hazaras in Afghanistan has changed but how much …?