#gundam factory

[alts-photography]

The month before he was taken down :'(

We stayed all day and watched the performance over and over again.

[irfnmn]

[sorakazeno]

Yokohama Bridge

This year I started watching the DiC Dub (original English dub from the 90s) with a friend. A lot of the dialogue did not age well and it is hilarious now.

While watching it, I forgot there was an episode that took place in Yokohama. The image below is from the end of the episode when Usagi plays the star locket.

I went to the Gundam Factory to see the giant mecha. I snapped this picture of the bridge and realized as I was watching the episode above, I had seen this bridge.

Sort of the same angle? Sadly this is the only image I have of the bridge.

[hoshhiro]

[kyndaris]

The Perfect Cup

As everyone knows, the 14th of February is Valentine's Day, where romance reigns supreme where flowers and boxes of chocolates are gifted to significant others. In Japan and Korea, Valentine's Day is when girls give the boys they like chocolate. A month later, on 14th March, boys return the gesture. And given its marketability, I saw many advertisements for it as we travelled across both Japan and South Korea.

Unfortunately for bleachpanda and myself, we were both single. So, on White Day, we headed all the way down to Yokohama instead to treat ourselves. Not with chocolate, mind you, although there was a Godiva cafe I regret not actually visiting, but because I wanted to immerse myself in the locations that were in Yakua: Like a Dragon and Lost Judgment.

Yokohama is a city south of Tokyo and is the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefeecture. It was also one of the first Japanese ports opened to foreign trade back in the mid-19th century. But it's also known for a range of distractions including Cosmo World, the Red Brick Warehouses and, of course, our first destination for the day: The Cup Noodle Museum.

The humble Cup Noodle started life out as Chicken Ramen. The inventor, Momofuku Ando, had been trying to make something that needed only the addition of some hot water. It was during a trip to America that Momofuku was inspired by people putting his chicken ramen noodles in a cup, pouring in hot water and then eating them with a fork. By bringing together all sorts of innovative ideas, including changing one's perspective on how to place the ramen into a cup, he was able to come up with a winning formula that soon became an international sensation.

Entering inside the Cup Noodle museum, bleachpanda and I set about creating our perfect cup - much like how Noctis and his friends did during their road trip adventure in Final Fantasy XV (a game bleachpanda still hasn't finished even as she tries to guilt me into not playing Final Fantasy XVI as soon as it released. I'm GETTING there. I just need to finish off a few OTHER games I bought like Like a Dragon: Ishin!). In the game, Noctis and friends were tasked with slaying numerous monsters depending on the type of ingredient you chose when speaking with Gladiolus.

Heck, I even posted a picture on this very blog where someone had cosplayed as Noctis with the Cup Noodle hat!

Oh, memories...

In any case, bleachpanda and I were able to successfully make our own flavours of Cup Noodle and designing the outside too! Due, of course, to my lack of creation, I simply drew a picture of Pikachu. But I know if my friend Rinbeti had come along, she would have probably drawn something either wondrous or terrifying.

There's no telling if she'll be wholesome or draw something that's NSFW. Perhaps both, actually.

Afterwards, bleachpanda and I took the opportunity to explore the rest of the museum, learning its history: from its humble beginnings to the massive brand it is today. Heck, there's even SPACE ramen now!

From the Cup Noodles Museum, bleachpanda and I headed to the Red Brick Warehouse. Unfortunately, much of it was impassible due to an event that would be held on the next day. And though I was told it was a collection of boutique shops, from what I managed to glimpse, it seemed to primarily be food. And we were still too early to chow down on anything.

So, off we trotted to Chinatown, bypassing the very European-inspired design of Yokohama's Customs House. Now, the Chinatown in Yokohama, it should be known, is the largest Chinatown in Japan and is about 160 years old. Almost everywhere we walked were restaurants or themed shops. And in my eyes, it carried a lot of influence from the Guangdong province of China, as well as Hong Kong.

It was here when we tried out the Japanese idea of yumcha. And while the food was decent, I have to admit, it didn't quite keep the spirit of a rowdy yumcha with trolleys being pushed through narrow aisles between seats as the servers tried to hawk away their offerings to their hungry guests.

Still, I was quite satisfied in wandering around the Chinatown (we even picked up some snacks) before heading to Yamashita Park. Once there, I couldn't help but feel like I'd be thrust into Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Though Yamashita park was only a small portion of the Yokohama world map, I remembered many an amusing side quest in the section, which was only emphasised when Takayuki Yagami was skateboarding in the park as part of his mission to infiltrate all the school clubs in Lost Judgement.

Credit must be given to Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio for bringing these real-world locations to life in video game format. Especially given how I was able to identify so many places that I'd only ever seen in the shrunken down version of the game.

But I didn't have much time to appreciate the Like a Dragon nostalgia because Yokohama had one last surprise for us: The Gundam Factory and its towering recreation of a Gundam that could move through the use of hydraulics! Even for someone who doesn't like mechs in general, seeing the giant robot pose and spout meaningful things about friendship and a bright future was still an impressive sight to witness.

We stayed longer than I anticipated at the Gundam Factory as we waited for the next performance, but bleachpanda was satisfied to record most of the variations. She was, however, disappointed that the shop didn't have much on offer. Given it was set to close by next month, though, she wasn't too bothered.

Plus, you know, there was an apology from the creators on the limitations of what creating a real-life Gundam would entail. It's honestly too bad we haven't yet found a means to find ultralight metals to make them a reality.

With the spectacle of the 'Moving Gundam' in the rearview mirror, bleachpanda and I returned to Tokyo. More specifically, we headed back to Shinjuku station. But before returning to our hotel, bleachpanda and I made a stop at the batting cages (after refuelling at a Krispy Kreme to see if there were any regional specials) to enjoy a uniquely Japanese experience.

I impressed myself with being able to hit several of the balls flung at me at 80-90km/h given how long it had been since I last swung a bat while playing softball. Bleachpanda, on the other hand, managed to punt several of the balls because it was easier and she didn't have to time her swing just right (it's cheating is what it is).

With my arms still feeling weak, bleachpanda and I ended our day with some Japanese KFC. To our dismay, it didn't taste as good as the McDonald's we had at Narita airport when we were heading to South Korea. Nor did it have any potato and gravy! A blasphemous act from anyone who loves and enjoys the KFC back home in Australia.

Disappointed, we returned to our hotel.

It's hard to imagine that tomorrow will be our last day exploring Japan and seeing what is has on offer. I can't believe the trip is coming to an end. It felt both too short and also fairly long.

And yet, a part of me can't wait to get back home and start planning my next great adventure out into the wide world!

[macchiatioo]

October 5, 2023

This was probably my favorite part of the trip! I watched the show like 3 times while we were there.

[nijigasakilove]

The Mecca

[moominchan]

Twitch: lunalorrain Facebook: Luna Lorrain Instagram: ruuna_070 Twitter: ruuna_070

[yokosuka-rainy-johnny]

Rx-78

You can check this YouTube Video in English language above. All people in Japan know this mobile suit, RX-78-2 GUNDAM. The 18 meter robot has been shown in Yokohama city. However, the show will be ended at end of this month (2024/03/31).I saw a lot of people from foreign countries there.I really hope I could see GUNDAM like this, again. 

[alittle-eccentric]

Day 8 - We were disappointed that the Gundam Factory was to end before we had chance to go to it. However at the beginning of 2023 it was announced that it would be around for another year. Hurrah. On the Monday we decided to do just that and visit the Gundam Factory. It was quite a long trip to Yokohama, and once we got there we headed over to port part to visit.

This I have to admit was one of the let downs of the trip. The free gift you get they have run out of and don't look like they won't be getting any more. The whole thing really is just the robot. You can go up and look closely at the parts, but Matt was fussed as it was quite expensive. You can watch the shows that are performed through the day, and there is a small museum and café. In all honesty it was quite underwhelming. The price to get in is reasonable, but the time it took to get there and back for what it was, made the trip disappointing.

If you are a big Gundam fun, or if you have a whole day plan for Yokohama then I would say it is worth a visit. If you aren't a huge fan and don't have plans in Yokohama (we had visited on our last trip and had done all we had wanted to do there then) then I would say it probably isn't worth a visit just for that as it is a long train ride from Tokyo.

Enough of my complaining though. The Gundam was cool and the show was impressive and Yokohama is pretty. We were there maybe just over an hour and then headed back to Akihabara to do some shopping. We stopped off on our way and tried a cute little burger place for lunch which was nice too.

We finished the day off with Matt getting his first ever otamatone and then our first ever meal at Coco's, where they had robot servers which was super cool. I had the hamburg steak and this delicious ice cream for dessert!

[arcadebroke]

[irfnmn]

[danejudidench]

Started making Bionicle tarot cards! No full deck yet, but for now you can buy these as T-shirts and stickers at my store!

[hoshhiro]

[ghost-trapped-in-the-screen]

Just some clothing doodles

[the-hawkseye]

Only been living in japan for half a year and I am already a Gundam/Gunpla enthusiast

Look at them go