That is the vast number of people, including the lucky two of us, who attended the first day of the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show. Inside the building the crowd thronged with revheads lugging their oversized cameras and tripods around. The massive crowd (and the girls) almost obscured the cars and turned getting a clear view into a test of both perserverance and endurance.
Having observed the Tokyo Motor Show on the news over the years, it was a great opportunity to experience what all the fuss is about. I was impressed by the tremendous number of vehicles on display simultaneously in one location; and if we were in the market for a new car this would be the place to be. Engineer husband was a little disappointed about the lack of innovation and felt that shift away from the tired, old four-wheel design is long overdue, but as anyone who knows me can attest, I am not into cars and I was unfazed by the lack of variety in the lineup.
However, true to form, I did find the venue, the Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba (i.e. the nickname for the Tokyo International Convention Center) itself to be quite fascinating. According to Wikipedia, this is where the wrestling, fencing and taekwando events will be held at the 2020 Olympic games and it will also serve as the main broadcasting centre and press centre. For those who would like a better sense of its locale, here is a Google Map.
From the outside, it has an imposing form which demands your attention, and from the inside, it is a maze of different levels (which again, demands attentiveness). I took the below photograph of the main entrance below as we were leaving. The stream of people leads to the entrance at the far right.
If you are a person who likes a map here is a building map. Our route for the day entailed us entering the building from the east wing (bottom left photograph) as we had ridden our bicycles and ended up here rather than at the main entry point. Research after the fact uncovered that this wing had been built by husband's company in 1996 with the opposite west wing being built by a different contractor. Once inside I lost all sense of direction and followed the flow of the crowd. After we saw the east wing exhibits, we walked through a connecting passage to the west wing and checked out more displays. Toescape exit we ascended to the fourth floor (below right photograph) where there was a viewing platform and the surrounding buildings looked close enough to touch before we found the outside staircases and our way out.
From the outside, it has an imposing form which demands your attention, and from the inside, it is a maze of different levels (which again, demands attentiveness). I took the below photograph of the main entrance below as we were leaving. The stream of people leads to the entrance at the far right.
If you are a person who likes a map here is a building map. Our route for the day entailed us entering the building from the east wing (bottom left photograph) as we had ridden our bicycles and ended up here rather than at the main entry point. Research after the fact uncovered that this wing had been built by husband's company in 1996 with the opposite west wing being built by a different contractor. Once inside I lost all sense of direction and followed the flow of the crowd. After we saw the east wing exhibits, we walked through a connecting passage to the west wing and checked out more displays. To
Phew, relief to be outside again and surrounded by open space. Quite happy to hop on my bicycle and cycle home as the sun commenced its descent. Although it would be dark by the time we covered the 16 kilometres distance. Perhaps a car could be a good idea after all? No, I'm just kidding, you knew that, didn't you? I can't imagine when we will ever own a car again. In the meantime, we love our bicycles, especially on glorious autumn days like this one was, and are quite content to rely on pedal power to the nth.
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