Shin Kiba

  

Shin Kiba Station is located in the Shin Kiba district of Koto Ward of Tokyo. It is served by Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, JR East Keiyo Line, and TWR Rinkai Line. Each of the lines has station facilities of its own, and all tracks are elevated.

 

The district of Shin Kiba is located on Yume No Shima, or ‘Dream Island', an island made of Tokyo's garbage of 1960s and 70s. During this period tons of garbage from Metropolitan Tokyo was dumped here every day and it eventually became a landfill. In the late 70s the area was covered over by a layer of top soil and it became a beautiful island with among other things, the popular Yume No Shima Park being located here.

 

Yume No Shima Park (Dream Island Park)

 

Yume No Shima Park is located next to Tokyo Harbor on Yume No Shima, or Dream Island. This large expanse of greenery is full of eucalyptus trees and fresh grass, and is frequented by picnickers and strollers in large numbers every day. Several other features have made this Park a popular place for both locals and tourists.

 

Among these features the most prominent is Yume No Shima Tropical Greenhouse Dome . The greenhouse, consisting of three domes – Dome A, Dome B, and Dome C – covers an area of 16,145 ft?. It was built in 1988 to teach people about their dependence on plant life. Heating to the Greenhouse is supplied from an adjoining 2-storied incinerating plant.

 

Dome A features a tropical forest complete with a waterfall, Dome B has a typical tropical village, and Dome C features the fauna of Ogasawara islands, a tropical Pacific archipelago 1000 km south-south-east of Tokyo. There is also an Exhibition Hall displaying the many wonders of fauna, a Visual Hall with educational video shows on tropical flora and fauna, another Exhibition Hall with displays on varying themes, and the most interesting – a small greenhouse with carnivorous plants that can be seen slowly eating away beetles, ants, and bugs.

 

Yume No Shima Tropical Greenhouse Dome is open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. except Mondays. Entry fee is ¥ 200 per adult and ¥ 100 per child.

 

A 5 minute walk from Yume No Shima Tropical Greenhouse Dome is the Daigo Fururyu Maru Exhibition Hall . This hall houses the fishing boat that was exposed to nuclear fallout during the Bikini Atoll test in 1954. This was the test that U.S. conducted of the hydrogen bomb ‘Bravo' (a bomb a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombs) on Bikini Atoll. Despite the boat being 60 km outside the prohibition zone, it was badly affected by the fallout. The crew of the boat became very sick and all died prematurely. The boat, which has become a symbol of the anti-nuclear testing movement, is very impressively housed in an almost church-like structure. Near it are informative displays of the unfortunate incident.

 

Daigo Fururyu Maru Exhibition Hall is also open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. except Mondays. Entry is free. English pamphlets are available for ¥ 100.

Tokyo Sport and Cultural Center , also called the BumB , is also located in the park. This massive and superbly equipped sports center includes an arena, a futsal ground, a heated swimming pool, and a gym, besides performance and educational facilities, a Kids' Room, a Youth Square, and a restaurant.

 

A multi-purpose Coliseum and a baseball ground are the other features of Yume No Shima Park.

 

Tokyo Heliport

 

Located close to Shin Kiba Station is the Tokyo Heliport. This is the largest heliport in Japan with over 25,000 takeoffs and landings each year. It is mainly used for chartered flights by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Tokyo Fire Department, over 15 private companies, and news and television companies.