Stay by the sea in Tokyo.
Going to an event at Tokyo Big Sight? In the morning, you can walk to the venue. Want to have fun in Odaiba? At night, it’s a short way from the seaside back to your room. The Waterfront suits both.
Everything here is a set of pointers for preparing your trip, based on information from railway and bus companies, facilities and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (as of October 2026). Times, fares and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article.
Three seaside neighborhoods, linked by the Yurikamome
In this article, “the Waterfront” means the area around Odaiba, Ariake and Toyosu, facing Tokyo Bay. Maihama, home to Disney, is also near Tokyo Bay, but it’s in Chiba Prefecture. We haven’t included it in this article.
What links the three neighborhoods is the Yurikamome, a “new transit system” line. It leaves Shimbashi, crosses the sea, passes through Odaiba and Ariake, and runs as far as Toyosu. There are 16 stations in all.
- Odaiba: a seaside park with a sandy beach, and big shopping complexes. Daiba Station on the Yurikamome, and Tokyo Teleport Station on the Rinkai Line
- Ariake: the neighborhood where Tokyo Big Sight is. Tokyo Big Sight Station on the Yurikamome, and Kokusai-tenjijo Station on the Rinkai Line
- Toyosu: teamLab Planets and Toyosu Market. Shin-Toyosu Station on the Yurikamome, and Toyosu Station, where you can also change to the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line
If you want to travel light on event mornings, Ariake. If you want to enjoy the seaside at night, Odaiba. If you want Toyosu Market, teamLab, or the subway into central Tokyo, Toyosu.
The other way to get around is the Rinkai Line. It runs underneath Odaiba and Ariake and has through service with the JR Saikyo Line, so you can ride from Shinjuku to Tokyo Teleport without changing trains (about 25 min).
The islands of Odaiba were first built in the 1850s by the Edo shogunate, to defend the city from the sea. Today, people come to that same shore to play.
On the morning of an event — the venue is right there
Tokyo Big Sight has two nearest stations: Tokyo Big Sight Station on the Yurikamome (about a 3-minute walk) and Kokusai-tenjijo Station on the Rinkai Line (about a 7-minute walk).
Stay in Ariake, and depending on your accommodation, you can walk to the venue. Stay in Odaiba or Toyosu, and it’s just a short ride on the Yurikamome. No long, crowded train ride from central Tokyo. Your event morning simply begins.
Big Sight is Japan’s largest exhibition venue, with 16 halls across three buildings: East, West and South. Look for the upside-down triangle of the Conference Tower, which seems to float 58 m above the ground.
Leave your suitcase at your accommodation
The venue does have coin lockers, but even the largest ones are 84 cm high and 36 cm wide (700 yen a day). Same-day baggage storage takes bags up to 120 cm (length + width + height combined) (500 yen per bag).
Drop your big suitcase at your accommodation, then head to the venue. That may be the most practical reason of all to stay on the Waterfront.
If the things you buy at the venue start to pile up, you can ship them from the Visitor & Business Center on the 2nd floor of the Conference Tower (the shipping must be paid by the person receiving it, called 着払い in Japanese).
On big event days, give yourself extra time
On event days, the Yurikamome sometimes runs on a “special timetable” (臨時ダイヤ in Japanese) with extra trains. Even so, depending on how crowded it is, it can take a while before you get on. If your accommodation is within walking distance, there’s no wait at all.
From evening — lights on the sea and the bridge
The real pleasure of staying on the Waterfront comes at night.
Rainbow Bridge lights up about 30 minutes after sunset and stays lit until midnight. The towers glow white from April to October, and a warm white from November to March.
Tokyo Aqua Symphony is a fountain show at Odaiba Marine Park that started in March 2026. Out over the sea, the fountains rise up to 150 m high and spread 250 m wide.
- 10 shows a day, between 3 p.m. and around 9:30 p.m. Each lasts about 10 minutes
- Free, and no reservation needed
- About a 3-minute walk from Daiba Station on the Yurikamome
On windy days the show is canceled, and depending on the wind direction, mist from the fountains may drift over to where you’re watching. Show times often change because of events or the weather, so check the official website on the day you go.
A popular place to watch is the observation deck near the Statue of Liberty. From the deck, you can take in Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, the skyscrapers, and even the Edo-period fort islands.
After the show, have dinner at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. As a rule, its restaurants are open until 10 p.m. (hours vary by restaurant).
And from here on, the time belongs to those who stay. If your accommodation is in Odaiba, it’s a short way from the seaside at night back to your room. No worrying about the last train. You can stay by the sea until the bridge lights go out at midnight. If your accommodation is in Ariake or Toyosu, just check the times of the Yurikamome for your ride back.
A sandy beach, and a path for night walks
Odaiba Marine Park has a sandy beach about 800 m long. It’s an artificial beach, made with white sand brought from Kozushima, one of the Izu Islands. The park is open all year round, but swimming isn’t allowed.
On the Ariake side is Symbol Promenade Park, which runs from Daiba through Aomi to Ariake. It’s a walking path with beautiful night views. Step out of Kokusai-tenjijo Station, and right in front of you is its “Stone and Light Plaza” (石と光の広場 in Japanese).
For a view from higher up, go to the observation deck on the 21st floor of the Telecom Center Building (99 m above the ground). It’s connected to Telecom Center Station.
Crossing the bridge on the Yurikamome
Rainbow Bridge carries an expressway, ordinary roads and the Yurikamome, all together. So just by riding the Yurikamome, you get to cross the bridge.
From the Yurikamome’s windows, you see skyscrapers, Tokyo Tower, Rainbow Bridge and the harbor. By day, Tokyo Bay opens out wide. By night, it all turns into a sea of glittering lights.
On days you head into central Tokyo, the ride there and back becomes your time to watch the Waterfront go by.
Riding is easy. At all 16 Yurikamome stations, you can go through the ticket gates using contactless payment with major credit cards and more. No advance registration needed. With the same card, anything over 820 yen in a day is discounted, so however many times you ride, that day costs no more than 820 yen.
(Each card is for one person. Contactless payment has no child fares, so families can also use transport IC cards such as Suica and PASMO.)
The Rinkai Line has one window highlight, too. It runs mostly underground, but comes out above ground past Kokusai-tenjijo. Take a train bound for Shin-Kiba, and for about 3 minutes between Shinonome and Shin-Kiba, you’ll see Tokyo Skytree on the left, facing the direction of travel, and Tokyo Gate Bridge on the right.
Mornings in Toyosu
For early risers, there’s Toyosu.
teamLab Planets is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last entry one hour before closing). It’s a 1-minute walk from the North Exit of Shin-Toyosu Station. Tickets aren’t sold on site, so get yours ahead of time.
Toyosu Market lets visitors in from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Besides Sundays and national holidays, it’s closed on some other days too, so check the market calendar to see whether it’s open on the day you go.
In the evening, the sunset over the water at Toyosu. At night, Rainbow Bridge. From morning to night, you can fill a whole day without leaving the Waterfront. Odaiba alone is worth setting aside a full day for.
On rainy days, head indoors. Tokyo Joypolis, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Tokyo, Miraikan and more are in Odaiba.
Arriving from the airport, heading to the airport
The Waterfront has airport buses (Airport Limousine). But the services from Haneda and from Narita work quite differently.
Haneda Airport
- Adult fare 1,000 yen. About 30–50 minutes to Tokyo Big Sight
- Buses that stop at Big Sight run only until early evening
- Late at night, buses to Ariake Garden and Toyosu Station run until the 22:25 departure from Terminal 3. These buses don’t go to Big Sight, so check the destination before you board
- On the day you head to the airport, the buses you can catch at Big Sight are afternoon services. For an early-morning flight, there are buses from Toyosu Station in the 5 a.m. hour
Narita Airport
- Adult fare 3,100 yen. Stops in front of hotels in Ariake and Daiba, and at Toyosu Station (there’s no stop called “Tokyo Big Sight”)
- 5 buses a day go to the Waterfront, and the last one leaves Narita before 7 p.m.
- About 1 hour 10 minutes to Toyosu Station, about an hour and a half to Ariake, and about 1 hour 45 minutes to Daiba
- Buses to the airport also run 5 times a day, and the last one leaves Toyosu Station around 4 p.m.
If you arrive at Narita at night, take the train. Ride the Narita Express (N’EX) to Tokyo Station, take JR to Shimbashi, and change to the Yurikamome (about 68 minutes to Shimbashi, not counting transfer time).
From Haneda by train, take the Keikyu Line to Shimbashi and change to the Yurikamome, or take the Tokyo Monorail to Tennozu Isle and change to the Rinkai Line.
Heading back at night after a day out in central Tokyo
On nights you head back to the Waterfront after a day out in central Tokyo, the last trains work differently depending on the line you take.
From Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro (Rinkai Line): On weekdays, the last through train with no transfer leaves Shinjuku a little after 23:00. After that, if you change at Osaki, you can still get back to the Waterfront until a little after midnight on weekdays. If you’re riding on a weekend or national holiday, check that day’s timetable.
From Ginza and Tokyo Station (Yurikamome): The last train from Shimbashi that goes all the way to Toyosu leaves at 23:50. After that, the 3 trains up to the 0:20 departure are bound for Ariake. They go as far as Daiba, Tokyo Big Sight and Ariake, but not to the Toyosu side (Shijo-mae, Shin-Toyosu and Toyosu).
If you’re staying in Toyosu, you can also get back on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line. If you know which line the station nearest your accommodation is on before you head out, it’s easier to choose your way back at night.
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On the morning of the event, walk to the venue. At night, watch the fountains and the bridge lights by the sea, then head straight back to your room.
Not the very center of the city, but in exchange, the sea is right beside you. That’s Tokyo, when you stay on the Waterfront.
