24 Hours in Odaiba and Tsukiji

Explore Tokyo the easy and flexible way

By Eriko Fukui

Community writer

It is worth the trip to the main store in Asakusa just to try this matcha tea, perfectly matched with the Japanese style parfait.

The Sky Hop Bus has 2 stories and customers can sit on the top floor and feel the breeze.

Bus stops and leaves on time at the Sky Hop Bus stop.

Each course starts from Marunouchi Mitsubishi Building which is 3 min away from Tokyo station Marunouchi South exit on foot.

Every seat has own audio guidance, currently in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and English.

The bus stop for Tokyo Tower is located at the base of the tower.

The view of Rainbow bridge and Fuji TV building from the bus window on a highway.

Fuji Television is a popular TV company in Japan.

We could even see the Gundam statue from the bus.

It was one of the best Tempura I ever had in my whole life. This is the Tenfusa Tempura restaurant in the Tsukiji Fish market.

Kabukiza building is within walking distance from Tsukiji Fish market.

Tokyo Skytree tower is too tall to take a picture from the bottom.

Funawa is a famous Wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop

The Akihabara electric street is always busy to stop and take a photo, but the Sky Hop Bus provides you with perfect location to do so.

Back to Tokyo station. This picture was taken at the rooftop garden of "Kitte" building that is free to enter.

You have 24 hours to see, smell, hear and taste the best of Tokyo. How do you do it? Why not try the friendly Hop on Hop off bus for people who wants to see everything in one day. It offers three courses which cover Asakusa-Tokyo Skytree, Odaiba, and Roppongi-Tokyo Tower. There are 2 kinds of tickets; 1 Day Pass (24 hour) costs ¥2500 and 2 Day pass(48 hour) costs ¥3500. It is valid for 24 hours so you can use it for 2 days if you start in the afternoon. For example, if you started to use the ticket on May 21 at 3 p.m., it will expire on May 22 at 3 p.m.

My friend and I decided to take the Odaiba course and the Asakusa course. It starts from Tokyo station, then heading to Imperial palace, Hibiya Park, Kasumigaseki government building area, Toranomon Hills, Tokyo tower, Onarimon gate, Shiba Kouen Park, Rainbow bridge, Fuji Television, Aqua City Odaiba, Venus Fort shopping mall, Tokyo Big Sight, LaLa port toyosu shopping mall, Kabukiza and Tsukiji fish market. It took 90 minutes. The best part about the Odaiba course is that being far from central Tokyo, this hop on hop bus provides easy access compared with public transport. And it's really nice to take a ride in the open air with an ocean view.

More over, it will stop by Tsukiji Fish market before noon if you took a 9:50a.m. bus from Tokyo station. It was perfect timing to have lunch. We chose Tenfusa 天房 which is a well known Tempura restaurant in Tsukiji fish market. The prices range is from ¥1200 to ¥1600. It was a generous serving; fresh, and crispy. One of the best Tempura ever in my whole life.

The Asakusa course takes in Tokyo Skytree, Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara, and Shin Nihombashi, covering both the old and new towns. We took a walk in Asakusa Nakamise alley and visited well known Funawa 舟和 wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop. Funawa has a few branches in Asakusa, but only the main store serves this Japanese style parfait.