Odaiba is a section of Tokyo right on the bay (it’s actually a man-made island), and is basically one giant shopping mall complex of museums, attractions, events, and exhibitions.

With Mario himself at “RisuPia,” Panasonic’s interactive tech museum and showcase for kids.

My son and I ventured out there this past weekend and had a great time. We both learned, enjoyed, and played...A LOT!!!

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Here’s a short summary of highlights, before diving in:

• Riding the New Monorail to Odaiba!
• Panasonic’s RisuPia
• Facing our fears on one of the world’s biggest ferris wheels!
• Seeing real-life Mario Kart characters driving down the street in Roppongi!
• The Odaiba Trick Art Museum
• Buying toys with Bitcoin in Yurakucho!
  (For a more exhaustive resource on all the fun to be had in Odaiba for kids, please check out this excellent article on the topic.)

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Riding on the (relatively) new Yurikamome monorail. We got to sit in the very front!

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We got the coveted front seat of the Yurikamome monorail which crosses Tokyo Bay out to Odaiba.
This led to a great conversation about monorails, electricity, and mag-lev trains. We plan to make our own very soon, using magnets and some common household items/materials. Z-Bee (my son) really lit up when we started talking about how these trains work, and asked lots of questions.

Here’s a sample of some of the time lapse video we took from the front:

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Panasonic’s RisuPia Technology Museum and Play Center

image source.

Being as we weren’t allowed to take photos on the interactive-tech-play-center top floor, I had to use one from a different source, but what you see above is some kids playing air hockey with prime numbers in a math-meets-sports, touchscreen-type game.

The real reason we had come, however, was the Nintendo SWITCH! Isaiah’s crazy about Mario Odyssey, and as such, we had to hit the Nintendo Game Front café and make a reservation. After writing your name down on the waiting list, you can play the game on your own private sofa with big screen TV for ten minutes. Not a long time, I know, but I was honestly proud of Isaiah when he waited over an hour to take a second turn.

At first I had prodded him to leave, telling him it was a waste of time to wait an hour for just ten minutes of game time. But then I realized something. He was doing what I always ask him to: exercising patience and pursuing his goals. I took a new tack and told him that I was impressed with his determination and willingness to wait for a delayed payoff, instead of seeking immediate gratification in a less-satisfying alternative.

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Facing our fears on one of the world’s biggest ferris wheels!

After waiting over an hour to play the Nintendo Switch again at RisuPia, we got our turn, played happily for 10 minutes, and then walked out the door. It was closing time. It had also gotten dark in the meantime, and as I turned around to look at he city, I saw a big ferris wheel lit up in the distance. It was beautiful. We both remarked at the lovely colors blinking against the night sky.

I jokingly said to my son, thinking his slight fear of heights would stop him, Hey, you wanna go on that ferris wheel?
Yeah! came the immediate reply. I gulped. Well, time to be a good dad and face my fear of heights as well.

I’m not really scared of tall buildings, or even airplanes, once we’re way up in the air, but ferris wheels? Something about just the thought of the slow-moving, rocking carriages makes my stomach flutter with anxiety.

Well, anyway, long story short. We did it. I was fucking terrified about halfway up, and Isaiah said I was making a really funny face, but once we got close to the top, where I thought I’d be most nervous, the fear dissipated. I’m not exactly sure why, but it did. I told Isaiah “thank you” for helping me face one of my fears, and said I wasn’t afraid anymore. We talked about how doing what you’re afraid to do often stops fear dead in its tracks. I thanked him again. He said “Yeah dad, I gave you a mission!” I’m glad. I didn’t want to set an example of cowering to fear for my son, and missing out on fun things in life because of it.

We bought the commemorative photo at the end of the ride to remind us of the day’s big victory.

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Real life Mario Kart in Roppongi!

After the ferris wheel and some other fun stuff, we headed back into the city proper to eat some dinner and check into our hotel for the night. We ran into some Mario Bros characters along the way! Check it out!

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The Trick Art Museum.

NoooooooooooooooOooOOOOooooOoo!!! Never fear? There is no glass! It’s just a painting!

After a good night’s sleep, we headed back to into Odaiba the next day to visit the “Trick Art Museum,” and see what kind of optical-illusory, ninja-like fun we could get into.

Isaiah was more into finding the secret doors scattered throughout the small museum than in taking trick photos with me, but alas, we had a good time and came out with some fun photos all the same. He was interested in some of the illusions though, like the two rooms painted to look like mirror images of one another, with nothing in between but framed empty space, so you really think the empty space is a mirror at first.

Anyway, here are some more of our photos from the trick art museum.

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Our final stop was a mini-Bitcoin shopping spree in Yurakucho.

We hit up the Bic Camera (a large electronics chain here in Japan) where I found a choice bottle of Scotch, and Isaiah a choice 3DS game, both of which we paid for directly, with Bitcoin.

Pretty neat.

Isaiah and I talked about money, taxes, and how the government is kind of like another kid that comes and takes half of the carrot you planted and raised, without doing any of the work. “If you don’t give the kid half the carrot, he punches you,” I explained to Z-bee. He had gone with me looking for various Bitcoin ATMs and they’d all been removed due to recent government regulations.

He really listened to what I was saying, made an angry face, and said he was gonna stop them. He could grasp the unfairness pretty easily. Kids usually have very strong senses of justice, I have found. Anyhow, we spent our BTC at Bic Camera, and then got on the shinkansen to head back home.

image source.

All in all, a great weekend of play and learning for both dad and son.

Please do check out that linked article (after the highlights list) listing all the fun things to do with kids in Odaiba. It really is an amazing place, and there’s a lot that I couldn’t cover in this short post!

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(Thanks for stopping by! If you missed the last Unschooling Blog, Vol. 41: “Volunteering at the Free School, Day 1 - Introductions,” you can find that here.)

~KafkA

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DTube and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)