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The story
A thread on 5ch’s “Live News Everything G” board featured photos claiming that no one could be seen in Odaiba. Once-bustling commercial facilities like Venus Fort and Odaiba Oedo Onsen Monogatari have already closed after their leases expired, leaving only a handful of areas, such as DiverCity, still open for business. However, many pushed back, arguing that the photos were taken in the closed-down Aomi area, and that the seaside park, AQUA CiTY, and DiverCity still draw crowds on weekends — leaving the thread divided over just how deserted Odaiba really is.
What people said
Not even homeless people lol
Didn't other areas get used too on itasha (decorated car meet-up) days?
Isn't that the place next to the car showroom area? Can't believe it got this run-down.
Re: #1 Of course there's no one around in a spot that's not even open anymore.
There are plenty of people at the seaside park, AQUA CiTY, and DiverCity.
It's packed on weekends.
Don't get smug just because a few spots have people.
In places like Shinjuku or Shibuya, there's seriously nowhere you can open your eyes and not see a single person.
I remember thinking, "who builds a TV station out here?"
They developed the surrounding area afterward, but I guess people never really settled in.
These days, unless you've got something that's an absolute must-visit, charging aggressive parking rates is just a bad move.
I take the Rinkai Line.
That sounds kind of dumb.
I'll just throw your own words back at you — don't act smug posting photos of a closed-down facility in Aomi and claiming there's no one around.
Might as well just hold it here every year.
There are tons of kids at places like Round One (the arcade/bowling chain).
With the rest of central Tokyo packed to the gills thanks to inbound tourism, anyone would notice that the moment you step into Odaiba, the housing, offices, and shops are all dead empty.
Shiodome, for sure.
Also Akihabara — there are people around, but nothing's actually there.
What about Venus Fort?
Large-scale redevelopment just isn't realistic anymore given the times — between materials, labor, and land prices, the downsides are way too big compared to the upside.
It's such a huge open space to begin with — why are there so few homes there?
If they dug out a big underground complex there, it seems like you could fit plenty of housing.
Why did they shut that down and swap it for something else?
It was land leased from the Tokyo metropolitan government in the first place, so they just gave it back.
Letting Venus Fort and Odaiba Onsen Monogatari's contracts lapse instead of renewing them was just plain stupid.
Because customers stopped coming.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Odaiba is an area built on reclaimed land as part of bubble-era urban planning in the 1990s. While it flourished with the arrival of Fuji Television’s headquarters and various commercial facilities, much of the land was leased out by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government under fixed-term land leases. As those lease terms expired, major draws such as Venus Fort and Odaiba Oedo Onsen Monogatari closed one after another without renewing their contracts, leaving increasing stretches of vacant land, especially in the Aomi area. The point of contention in the thread was whether the circulated photos depicted areas still open for business or ones that had already closed — many pointed out that AQUA CiTY, DiverCity, and the seaside park remain lively. As for redevelopment, commenters noted that rising land and material costs make large-scale rebuilding difficult, suggesting there are structural factors at play that a simple “decline in popularity” doesn’t fully explain.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Live News Everything G) thread “[Tragic] Odaiba empties out, no one left wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”
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