The Day Tokyo Dome City LaQua's Lawn Becomes a Cosplay Plaza — Half a Day Beneath ThunderDolphin

I went to Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo Dome City, thinking it was just a place to watch baseball, but that day everything went completely off plan. The dome game wasn't until evening…

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I went to Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo Dome City, thinking it was just a place to watch baseball, but that day everything went completely off plan. The dome game wasn't until evening, and with free time during the day, I walked down the stairs toward LaQua. The artificial grass plaza was packed with people. Most were in their late teens to early twenties. They wore uniform-like clothes, black one-pieces, short checkered skirts. Sitting on the grass, they fixed their makeup, took photos of each other, and spread out photo cards on the ground to trade. I felt like I'd wandered into a photo shoot instead of coming to an amusement park.

The Lawn Isn't an Attraction Queue—It's a Photography Studio

LaQua's first-floor grass plaza is just an empty lot in front of a shopping mall on a map. In reality, it's different. That day, there were about a dozen groups sitting on the grass with thin cloth instead of mats, and you had to watch where you stepped to pass through. Looking at the objects scattered on the ground, you could figure out what kind of gathering it was. Two figurines on a pink circular mat, acrylic stands, cards in cases. There were no empty seats left on the wooden benches along the edge of the grass.

The noon sun was unforgiving. Even though it was May, heat was rising from the grass, and noticeably many people carried umbrellas. Black frilly umbrellas, white lace umbrellas. First-time visitors easily miss this detail. There's almost no shade on this lawn. There's one line of shadow cast by the building's eaves, but that spot was already claimed from the morning. I couldn't find shade and stood for 20 minutes until the back of my neck turned red.

This angle is the cheapest photo you can get at Tokyo Dome City. You can capture the dome, roller coaster, and Ferris wheel in one shot without spending a yen. The area above the blue stairs is a constant walkway, so setting up a tripod would be a nuisance. It's better to stand at the end of the grass below the stairs and shoot.

ThunderDolphin Is Scary Even If You Don't Ride It

Walking out from the LaQua building and up the sloped pathway, the ThunderDolphin rails pass overhead. This coaster's famous section is where it passes through the empty circle in the middle of the Big-O Ferris wheel, and looking up from below, the rails and the Ferris wheel gondolas actually appear to overlap. A red gondola-studded white circular frame, blue rails threading through the middle. It looked much narrower than it did in photos.

The sound when the cars pass was different from what I expected. The low rumble of the rails comes before the screams. Because of that sound reverberating in the chest, a few children cried. I saw parents hurrying to pick them up twice as they passed below.

Tokyo Dome City Attractions isn't structured like Disneyland where you buy an admission ticket to enter. The grounds themselves are open without fences, so you can just walk in, and you either pay per ride or buy an unlimited ticket. If you're not going to ride anything, you don't have to spend anything. This is Tokyo's real advantage for this neighborhood. Prices change by season, so I recommend checking at the ticketing booth on-site or the official guide.

A Pillar Rising to the Sky in Front of Splash Garden

Going deeper into the attractions area, you see a building with a navy sign that says 'Splash Garden (スプラッシュガーデン)'. The same building has a restroom pictogram, so it's convenient to remember the location. This area was definitely quieter than the grass plaza side. The cosplay crowds concentrate in front of LaQua, and rarely make it out this far.

The red disk at the top of the pillar slowly rises, then drops without warning. The long time it takes to rise makes for quite a bit of entertainment watching from below. Standing underneath, you can see the shadow suddenly grow larger at the moment of the drop. There are a few benches to sit on nearby and a vending machine close by.

A Camera-Head Cosplayer Made a Peace Sign While We Were in Line

At the waiting area of the attractions zone with its blue rubber floor and yellow chain-marked sections, I encountered the day's most unexpected scene. Someone wearing a silver-wrapped square box on their head walked by. The box front had a large lens-shaped circle and a grid of holes, and white-gloved hands made a peace sign. It was a camera-head character cosplay. Behind them walked people in black wigs, orange wigs, wearing green haori.

What was fun was the children's reaction. They weren't scared and stuck right next to them making peace signs too. The camera-head person bent down a little first. I think this is where the cosplay crowd in this neighborhood differs from other parts of Tokyo. These are people who came planning to be photographed, so there's no distance between them. Of course, indiscriminately pointing cameras at them is another matter. I made eye contact with the children's guardian before taking this photo, and I'm posting it with the children's faces obscured.

Good Things for First-Time Visitors to Know

• There are several nearest stations. JR Suidobashi Station, Toei Subway Suidobashi/Kasuga Station, and Tokyo Metro Korakuen Station are all within walking distance. If you want to go straight to the LaQua grass plaza, Korakuen Station's exit is more convenient.
• The grounds are divided into levels by stairs and slopes. If you try to go in a straight line based on the map alone, you'll get lost a level up or down. The blue stairs in the photo are the main circulation connecting the LaQua plaza and the dome side.
• There's almost no shade on the grass plaza. If you're staying a long time during the day, a hat or umbrella isn't a luxury—it's essential.
• You can freely walk through the grounds without riding any attractions. You can come just to take photos and leave—nobody will say anything.
• Cosplay crowds vary greatly depending on event schedules—some days they're there, some days they're not. If you're expecting the scene from the photo, I recommend checking Tokyo Dome and LaQua event schedules before your visit.

When I returned to my accommodation that evening and looked through the photos, I realized I hadn't ridden a single attraction. But I wasn't disappointed. What makes this neighborhood fun isn't the roller coaster—it's that the same frame contains both people sitting on the grass for hours taking photos of each other and rails passing overhead every 30 seconds with a roar.