This spring the good people of Tokyo Tower’s new theme park,TOKYO One Piece Tower, opened up their harbor and welcomed me to the festival-like island of Tongari (TONE-GA-REE)! My visit coincided with the first day of festivities related to the Japanese holiday Children’s Day (May 5th) which also happens to be Luffy’s birthday! Traditionally, wind socks designed to look like carps are put on display in front of homes from mid to late April until May 5th but I heard a rumor that some of the islanders added some One Piece-themed windsocks to this outdoor display! That’s not a carp, THAT’S LABOON! Holy carp!
The souvenir shops are overflowing with *exclusive* Straw Hat paraphernalia and the store’s interior design even includes a retelling of One Piece! A Tongari islander recommended these fruit-flavored Devil Fruit gummy souvenirs. They’re pretty good but be careful because three out of ten are *actual* Devil Fruit-flavored and they’re DISGUSTING!!! Consider yourself warned, you do NOT want to eat them!
After purchasing your passport, at the docks, [be sure to hold on to it since it can be used to interact with attractions inside] enter a cave connecting to the main island where you’ll giant replicas of poignant scenes from the comic related to the main crew. Each scene has a special visual or aural surprise in store when you stand in front of them. My personal suggestion? Robin’s is freaky and AWESOME!
Upon docking at Tongari Island you’ll be welcomed by a pirate feast where you can take pictures with life-size statues of the crew and view a wall-sized version of a full-color picture, drawn by Oda-sensei, depicting the Straw Hat pirates partying on Tongari!
On the fourth level you’ll find various sections of the island dedicated to activities or games bearing a theme related to the Straw Hat crew! My favorite section was the trip inside The Thousand Sunny where fans can get a feel for what it’s like inside the ship. If you’ve got an eagle eye, you might be able to tell what special day the crew is celebrating before it’s revealed at the end of the tour! [Pro Tip: Check the fridge]
Several hours after walking through the island left me famished which is why I was glad to find Franky’s Cola Bar! Of course I had a cola and to go with I chose the Franky Oyanky (really a super-sized oyaki dumpling.) What’s that? How was it you ask? Well it was….SUPERRRR!!! OW!
Zoro’s ’Sliced in Half’ attraction provided a replica museum featuring famous swords from the series with a finale that tests your slicing skills against a Marine assault.
The fifth floor event stage is hosted by energetic Tongari islanders who invite guests to compete against each other in arc-specfic challenges. The special event during my visit was seeing how fast I could punch in a limited time. I lost. Nothing for your self-esteem like being beaten by a 12-year old. But hey, you can always try again and the islanders even encourage you to come back and give it a shot!
Luffy’s Endless Adventure funhouse takes you through the One Piece saga with AWESOME mirror mazes based on Alabasta ruins and Impel Down along with some ’fiery’ chance encounters. Endless Adventure concludes with a breathtaking film that stunningly recreates iconic scenes from Fishman Island, Punk Hazard and Dressrosa. I dare you to keep your jaw off the floor when a mountain-sized Pica appears.
For many, they key to Tongari Island’s pinnacle of entertainment lies within the live stage performance of ’ONE PIECE LIVE ATTRACTION’. Using state-of-the-art projection technology along with traditional Japanese theater techniques, a cast that I’m convinced are the Straw Hat crew brought to life (especially Robin’s Mirai, is it possible to have a waist-line like that!?) put on a show that Leo Bazooka’d my expectations back to America. You really have to see this show to believe it.
Before you begin your adventure on Tongari, be sure to grab some of the limited passes for lunch or dinner at either the atmospheric ’Café Mugiwara’ or the full-on pirate feast experience waiting for you in ’Sanji’s Restaurant’.
The Mugiwara Cafe interior will remind guests of their favorite local coffee haunt with a slight One Piece twist. Try looking hard enough and you’ll find hidden surprises throughout the cafe!
An all-you-can-eat feast awaits customers of ’Sanji’s Restaurant’ where even the seating is themed after memorable Sanji scenes from the comic!
Sea train, Crocodile’s hidden jail and more await guests, oh, do mind the Bananadiles.
As for the food, well, I’ll let it speak for itself.
My visit to One Piece Tower was way beyond everything I expected. After spending almost an entire day exploring the island and meeting its colorful citizens, I can say with some certainty unless you’ve got a Devil Fruit power that gives your superhuman speed, one visit is NOT enough! If you’re only ’thinking’ about visiting, stop thinking and do what Luffy would do, jump head-first into adventure!
Oh, one last thing. Whatever you do, don’t push this button.