Magic Monorail to Odaiba

Odaiba is a reclaimed island in Tokyo harbour. It's sometimes described as Tokyo's playground, and is full of malls, hotels, video games, exhibition centers and even a few beaches (swimming prohibited). You get there on a futuristic monorail which loops up over the Rainbow Bridge and through Odaiba's cityscape. The monorails are driverless and if you get in quick you can sit in the front seat and live out your fantasies as a monorail engineer of the future.

The atrium at the Miraikan science museum.

Our first stop was Miraikan - the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. On the ground floor was 'It's a Tasty World', an exhibition focused around food science. The concept of umami or 'deliciousness' was explained in detail, as was the invention and production of ramen. The floors above held permanent exhibitions about various aspects of science and technology. Most of the exhibits were interactive and had good English signage. The most fun was an interactive table you could scribble on with virtual pens and watch as your drawings came to life.

Upstairs, in a transparent bubble, I found Paro. Paro is a therapeutic robot in the form of a seal pup. He was created as a companion for elderly people living alone, with the sole purpose of being cute. I'd seen him in a documentary last year where he genuinely did seem to enhance the quality of at least one lady's life, even when other rest home residents started to question her sanity for carrying a robotic baby seal everywhere. There were holes in the bubble you could poke your hands in and pick him up. Upon doing so, he blinked his huge lashed eyes, waggled his tail and emitted a noise no real baby seal has ever produced. Immediately about eight school girls ran up squealing "Ohh kawaii!". I had to agree.

After time well spent in the museum's gift shop, Hannah came away with a box of algae shortbread and a plastic apron emblazoned with anatomically placed internal organs.

We left the museum and walked through an unexpected green space to Venus Fort, a huge Venice-themed mall. The inside of the mall has an artificial sky projected onto the ceiling that cycles through day and night as you shop, which sounds tacky but is actually quite pretty. The shops themselves were great, ranging from international chains like Zara to shops specialising in uniquely Japanese products like tabi boots and tenugui. We even found an NHK character shop selling goods from Japan's national broadcaster, including a life-size cat bus! I bought stuff.

Finally, we couldn't leave Japan without going to a cat cafe. The one we visited downstairs from Venus Fort was less of a cafe and more of a cat home where you could also order drinks. There were about 20 different cats there, and while they  obviously hadn't been selected for their thrilling personalities, they all seemed fairly happy to be stroked and patted. Most of them were sleeping in cosy spots, some were negotiating platforms that ran around the walls. Any cat feeling shy (or bitey) had the option of retiring to behind-the-scenes areas away from the public.