Gundam: real-scale walking mecha to become major Japanese tourist attraction (news).

If you like your Japanese mecha big, as in Gundam-size, then you’re in luck! The City of Yokohama in Japan is opening a tourist attraction which is basically a full-size Gundam base with a real-scale moving Gundam the same size as a NASA rocket launch gantry.

They’re planning to open the site – called Gundam Factory Yokohama at Yamashita Wharf from October 2020 (with tickets – expected to sell out for months ahead, on sale from April 2020) , which will include a tour of the mocked-up base and a viewing seat to see this super-sized battlesuit mecha do its thing.

And, of course, there will be shops, cafes and restaurants all packed to the gunnels with Gundam merch.

My plan – wait until the Studio Ghibli theme park opens in Japan in 2022, then kill two birds with one giant robot fighting suit.

There’s a live video here of the plans for the park with Yasuo Miyakawa, its President, making the announcement – it’s in Japanese, though. Advance to five minutes into the video to see it start.