Haneda Innovation City: combining technology and tradition
September 2020 saw the opening of a fantastic brand-new industrial complex just next door to Haneda Airport. It is called Haneda Innovation City and it lies above Tenkubashi station on the Keikyu and Tokyo Monorail lines.
The complex of eleven stylishly low-slung structures(8 have currently been built)will be home to numerous kinds of services, but most significantly, it will be a center for technological development and research, specifically concentrating on advanced medical research study and hi-tech developments such as robotics.
At the exact same time, it likewise has a service matching center, conference/convention centers and an auditorium that will hold 3,000 individuals.
All of this is exciting enough, but for “daily people”, the real attractions are the cultural ones: bars, restaurants and coffeehouse, small boutique, and some entertainment options that are a bit unusual even for Tokyo.
At the eastern end of the complex is a roof “sky deck” with views throughout to Haneda Airport so visitors can see planes getting here and departing. While enjoying that view, visitors can likewise take advantage of 2 big foot baths– peel off your shoes and socks and dip in those tootsies! Forgot to bring a towel? No issue, a vending device dispenses them for simply JPY500.
Neighboring is Haneda Dejima, where visitors can wear virtual truth goggles and drop themselves into “The Heart of Zipangu”, an “immersive mixed truth” experience of images, light, and sound, combined with actors costumed as ninja, samurai and dream characters. Something completely different. (Conserve about 20% by purchasing tickets ahead of time.)
You can slow right down by catching the driverless shuttle bus that makes its way around the ground level of the complex at a mild 8 kph. The French-made electrical vehicle could go 20 kph on the open road, but is fitted with a guv to keep it within the Haneda Development City parking lot speed limit.
Or possibly you remain in the mood for more enjoyment. Take off in the flight simulator and channel your inner test pilot.
That, possibly you simply want to chill out with a hot drink and a good book. Cread!sce by Maruzen-Yushodo is just the spot for you.
There are great deals of other food and drink options throughout the complex, with lots more set up to come on line in the coming months.
There is likewise a Keikyu Ex Inn with a shuttle to the airport, very handy for short-term or transit visitors.
On ground level above the station is Kotsu Plaza, a little bus depot. Here you will also find a little tribute to the roots of this area, which was as soon as a small island at the mouth of the Tama River with a fishing town and nori seaweed farming. A stone marker includes the name of the previous village and a few sentiments, and an early aerial photo embedded in the tiles inform the story.
The Tokyo Airport was built on the north end of the island and opened in 1931. It was soon taken over by the Japanese military and then by the Occupation forces, who moved everyone– consisting of the regional Shinto shrine and a horse racing track– off the island. Ultimately the center again ended up being a civilian airport and the gateway to rapidly updating Tokyo, growing eastward into the bay as increasingly bigger airplane needed increasingly longer runways. This is the Haneda Airport we understand and like today.
Haneda Development City is an interesting place for a week-end getaway, particularly these days, when the alternatives for otherwise visiting Haneda are limited by circumstance.
© 2020 Jigsaw-japan. com and Vicki L. Beyer
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