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Japanese monster attack! Odaiba Trick Art museum, Tokyo Decks retro video games.
Why are these polar bears crying? Because global warming is melting the North Pole… and because they can’t join my Tokyo adventures!
Halloween is approaching quickly, so let’s get in the mood by exploring Odaiba’s Aquacity and Tokyo Decks. Retro video games and magic tricks – ready, set, go.
Odaiba is an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, and home to a number of bizarre diversions. Right above Sega Joypolis is the intriguing Trick Art Museum. (Address: 4F, 1-6-1 Decks Tokyo Beach Island Mall, Daiba, Minato-ku)
For a 900 yen entrance fee (less than $10), you have access to a series of ingeniously painted walls and sets, which result in these mind-boggling photos!
Can you figure out how we captured this shot? What’s real, and what’s 2D?
Am I really a prisoner in a madman’s glass… or is this an optical illusion?
(Answer: This is a two-dimensional painting at the edge of a room. I crouched in the corner, and pretended to be trapped — creating this amusing, 3D effect.
Jaws is alive! Yukiro is swallowed in a shark attack.
Props, peepholes and mirrors make these tricks possible.
I liked how many of the illusions involved traditional Japanese monsters, demons and ghosts. (Yokai, or supernatural spirits in their folklore).
Elsewhere in Tokyo Decks, we teleported back in time… to the early days of arcade games.
This retro game center contained machines from the early 1980s to the late 90s (House of the Dead). On the walls: old school Japanese idols and 1970s memorabilia.
Such fun to revisit classics like the original Street Fighter. Too bad that the prices weren’t preserved; each turn costs about 100 yen to play.
Lots of pirate souvenirs and games here.
Hit the octopus! Bam, bam!
Astroboy soars above us. So much nostalgia in one room.
The gift shop sold memorabilia with characters from past decades. Milky candies remain popular today.
Happy-faced cats never go out of style.
Next door was a shooting arcade. Naomi shot corks at the moving figures.
Down the hall, the nose of a bullet train. Not sure why we decided to sleep on it.
Captain of the Good Ship Takoyaki.
If you like eating these octopus balls, Tokyo Decks is heaven. There are multiple stores selling fresh takoyaki and toys.
After, we went to the Venice-themed Venus Fort (reminds of the Vegas Venetian hotel). The antique store Strange Love sold dark oddities, like Obscura in NYC. (Remember my Oddities TV appearance?)
Have you visited Odaiba in Tokyo Bay? What is your favorite old school video game?
PS: these photos are from a few months ago, hence the different hair color. And I’m going to change it again soon, before Halloween…
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World’s most lavish hotels! Photos inside Burj Al Arab, Dubai 7-star sail & Jumeirah Skyview bar.
Thanks for your kind words about my appearance on Discovery & Science Channel’s Oddities! If you missed my episode (where I “purchased” this elk head), you can see the TV show clip and bonus photos here.
In the Oddities segment, I talk about my work in journalism and coolhunting worldwide. On last month’s Middle Eastern adventure, I got to fulfill a travel goal… visiting the famous sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
My film team and I started at the Souk Madinat Jumeirah, a cluster of restaurants and shops near the Burj Al Arab. We thought we could get some traditional food and shisha here…
… but were sorely disappointed, as this turned out to be a Disney-Vegas take on an Arabian market. (Skip this place, and visit Dubai’s gold and spice souk instead; photos and info here.)
On the bright side, we got a great “establishing shot” of the famous hotel, lit under a crescent moon.
We took a cab to one of the most expensive hotels in the world (the Royal Suite is $18,776 per night!). Inspired by the curve of a dhow (Arabian boat), the Burj Al Arab is considered the symbol of Dubai.
Regular tourists can’t simply walk onto this island. You must be a hotel guest, or have a restaurant or bar reservation, in order to make it past the security gates. We chose the cheapest option (drinks at the Skyview Bar), which requires a minimum spend of $70 per person.
But it’s worth it — this is Dubai, and the world’s only (supposed) 7-star hotel! When we entered the lobby, my filmmaker Melissa exclaimed, “It’s like Donald Trump on steroids.” Designed by Tom Wright, with interiors by Khuan Chew, the concept is Arabian Technicolor Palace Dreams.
Take the elevator next to the aquarium, and look up. Vertigo.
In Dubai, brunches are big social occasions. Fridays and Saturdays are holidays here, and since alcohol is a no-no (unless you’re in a hotel), brunch is a way to get decadent.
But we were here for cocktails. We took the elevator to the Skyview bar on the 27th floor.
“It’s like a 90s music video,” exclaimed Melissa. Circuit boards and cyber lights, and a grandiose view of the marina.
We enjoyed drinks with Barbara of Elle Magazine, and Georgina of Etoile La Boutique (I’ll show you this fashion heaven soon). The cocktails were inventive — one had wasabi inside — and the bar’s atmosphere was from another planet. (Consult the Burj Al Arab’s website for reservations and dress code.)
I leave you with a few screencaps from my Oddities TV guest spot. My Goth-Victorian hairstyle looks a bit like mouse ears.
Watch the clip carefully, or you might miss the caption about my celebrity earless cat! You can see my TV reel and other appearances on my bio page.
Have you heard of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai? What do you think of the interiors, and do you think it deserves the seven-star rating?
PS: thanks Fashion Indie for interviewing me about personal branding, the reality of travel TV hosting, and how bloggers can get into television. I hope you find my advice helpful.
LA CARMINA
