Walking the Rainbow Bridge – Free Sightseeing in Tokyo

Nothing beats free when it comes to tourism right? And few things are as much bang for your buck when it comes to experiencing Tokyo as a walk across the Rainbow bridge. Of course, it requires the physique to be able to walk briskly for at least 30 minutes and still enjoy it, but if you can manage that I see no reason not to put this destination on your to-do list as a tourist in Tokyo! My favorite time to do the walk is around sunset, but it is great any time of the day, just make sure bridge is open for foot traffic before you head over! It closes early in the summer and even earlier in winter. Either way you go you save on the train ticket, which is one of the pricier ones in central Tokyo at about a hundred yen more than what you would normally pay for a ride this long.

Funny thing happened when I was taking the last photo though. There was a fairly large Earthquake in the general area, and the bridge started making some small noises as the anti-earthquake engineering kicked in to keep the wobbliness to a minimum. I felt very safe to be on the bridge!

Sunset Over Tokyo Bay

I have not had an opportunity to do the Rainbow Bridge part of the Tokyo tourist pilgrimage in a few weeks but I still have lots of photos to post. Here are six more that I took as I was walking northwards on the south promenade, towards mainland Tokyo. The bridge closes early in the winter so it is best to be prepared, and to wear warm clothes – the wind can be fierce up there!

More Sunset From the Rainbow Bridge – Tokyo Bay

Nothing beats going for a walk – or as the person in the first photo would surely agree – a run on the Rainbow Bridge at sunset! The bridge itself is easily Tokyo’s most overlooked tourist attraction and should really be on center place in any good travel guide of the Metropolis!

Rainbow Bridge Sunset

I often get asked where to go and what to do by tourists and visitors to Tokyo and one of my standard answers is always “walk across the Rainbow Bridge, preferably at or near sunset”. It might be a little complicated to find the access point near Tamachi Station but not impossible, and no problem at all if you have a smartphone. The better way if you are afraid of getting lost on the way to the bridge is to start the walk from the Odaiba side, and then you can deal with getting lost at your leisure, after having finished the purpose of the walk with not time pressure. I took these just as the sun was setting, on that short walk between Odaiba beach and the bridge.