Harumi Triton Square: Harumi
Odaiba isn't the only shopping spot with a view of the water. Harumi Triton Square in nearby Kachidoki offers similar amenities - restaurants, shops, open space and stylized surroundings close to the sea - but on a small enough scale not to blister your feet.

Essentially a glorified shopping mall, HTS has all the attractions needed (boutiques, aesthetic salon, kitchen gadget store and interior design school) to court the 'office-lady' crowd. Yet as more young families discover its spacious courtyard along one of Tokyo's prettier canals, the focus of shopkeepers seems to shift. Most restaurants are kid-friendly, and the management often hire jugglers, clowns and other performers (check the website for the schedule). You'll find a kids' boutique, family discounts at the hair salon and a prominent children's section in the bookstore. Even the main fountain out front - firing its pea-sized water droplets in random patterns - seems designed to entertain children without soaking them.

While upstairs is home to most of the upscale restaurants (the kaiseki-style tofu chain Umenohana; the trendy Korean restaurant Toraji; the New York bistro Wall Street), the food court below offers an ample selection of choices under 1000 yen. Harumi Triton also brews its own beer. The Triton Brown Ale has the fruity taste of Belgian brews, while the "Aroma" beer: well, the name speaks for itself (it's like drinking the cosmetics section of Mitsukoshi Department Store).

There are diaper-changing/nursing facilities, a pharmacy and a bakery, as well as a reasonably priced grocery store, onigiri shop and fruit stand, so unprepared parents can easily get it together shortly after arrival. And with spacious areas both indoors and out, kids are able to run about regardless of the weaather.

If you'd rather not spend the day in one place, HTS is a short walk from 'Monja Town,' the famous Monjayaki street near Tsukishima station. The Tsukiji Fish Market (Tsujkiji Shijo Stn.) and Shin-Kiba are both only a few stations away, as is Shiodome - the new business/ shopping/ entertainment complex now serving as Nippon Television's base of operations (another kid magnet) and the second stop on the Yurikamome monorail line to Odaiba.

by Jason Jenkins



Harumi Triton Square

Harumi 1-8-16


Directions:

Take the Oedo Line to Kachidoki Station.

From exit A4 (elevator): Walk straight out of the elevator and cross Harumi Dori to the Post Office side of the street. Then turn right and cross the street again, so that you are on the left-hand side of Harumi Dori. Walk straight 3 or 4 blocks until you reach a bridge with a moving sidewalk. Take the sidewalk to the other side and turn left. Harumi Triton Square will be on your right.

From A2 (no elevator): Walk straight out of the exit and turn left. Follow along the left-hand side of Harumi Dori until you reach a bridge with a moving sidewalk. Take the sidewalk to the other side and turn left, Harumi Triton Square will be on your right.

http://www.harumi-triton.co.jp/index_f.html