The most awaited day of the entire trip, at least as far as I'm concerned, has finally arrived. I've been waiting for years to see the legendary man live Yokohama Gundam, the 1/1 scale statue capable of moving and, in some way, walking. There Gundam Global Challenge which came to fruition in 2020 and has given life to a unique attraction in the world, which however will definitively close its doors next March, as confirmed by the signs that can be found in the city's train station.
Before going to the GUNDAM FACTORY but we took a train Shin Yokohamawith the aim of visiting the Ramen Museum (not to be confused with Cup Noodle Museum, which is also located in Yokohama). After queuing up to wait for the opening together with a handful of local citizens (Japanese people really like queuing), we spent a few minutes wandering around the entrance hall, and then went down to the basement, the real attraction of the museum. We were literally left speechless seeing what had been reproduced inside the museum, a Japanese town from a few decades ago complete with sky, dotted with places where it was possible to order different types of ramen and eat.
Our choice fell on the place with the least queue, but unfortunately my personal choice fell on a variety of ramen that I didn't like at all, which is why I wasn't able to enjoy the meal — for the first time since I arrived. in Japan. The fact that the music inside the venue also came from the past, more precisely from the nineties, will remain in my mind: I recognized two of my favorite songs from that decade, such as “Rosier” of the MOON SEA And “Movin' on Without You” Of Utada Hikaru. Once we finished eating and walking around the museum we moved back to the station to take a train towards the port, where the giant Gundam is located.
After getting off the train we crossed on foot Isezakichōthe neighborhood in which the most recent ones are set Like a Dragon and Lost Judgment, recognizing some iconic symbols such as the Ferris wheel, the park and the iconic city skyline. As we got closer to the attraction, the emotion grew more and more, and once inside we couldn't help but get as close as possible to observe the statue up close.
L'RX-78F00variant of Gundam original is placed inside a real containment cage, which actually acts as a structure capable of keeping it “suspended” (never actually standing) and allows it to move by simulating a few steps and assume different positions. As soon as we arrived we positioned ourselves as close as possible to watch one of the scheduled shows, waiting for our turn to climb to the top of the tower and see the show as close as possible — with tickets purchased about a month before departure, otherwise it would have been impossible.
Once the first show was over we took some photos and headed to GUNDAM BASIC in the immediate vicinity, to grab some GUNPLA and exclusive merchandise before our turn. Unfortunately, the shop was precisely what disappointed us the most since, given that the definitive closure was approaching, what was possible to purchase was only a miserable remnant of what could be found previously. However, I managed to take home four limited edition kits and some other gadgets, such as the photo book of the statue which I will place alongside that of the first one Odaiba Gundam taken ten years ago.
We queued up and were divided into groups. After leaving our bags in the lockers at the foot of the tower, we first went up to the middle floor and watched the first half of our show, then went up to the top and saw theRX-78F00 in all its splendor. It must be said that, despite the bans, some foreign tourists used selfie sticks and devices that obstructed correct vision for everyone else and for this reason we were quite upset (Sciascillo in particular) towards them. If only they had understood our insults…
I was one step away from jumping the fence and jumping into the cockpit to steal it.
Back on land, Kurama and Luca they abandoned us to reach Master — who, totally disinterested, in the meantime wandered around Yokohama and his own Chinatown — while I and Sciascillo we stayed at the Factory waiting for the sun to go down to enjoy the evening shows. We took it upon ourselves two Haros full of popcornn (which took up too much space in the suitcase) and we relaxed on the outdoor terrace of the Gundam Caféthe last store of the chain still in business.
Once closing time arrived and having seen all the shows it was time to leave, and I assure you that it was really difficult to say goodbye to that version of the Gundam before the final dismantling. Hence the title “Come on Giacomo, let's go away” — the quote from Three men and one leg somehow became the catchphrase of this trip every time we had to leave a certain place, Yokohama above all. Luckily we were able to catch the last train to Ikebukuro, where we rejoined the others for dinner.
Once we had eaten our meal in one of those places that if you don't eat quickly they will spit you out and kick your ass, we decided to turn the evening around by trying one of the attractions of Tokyo that I have been most eager to experience since my very first trip: The Karaoke. Once you cross the threshold of Karaokekanthe same chain of clubs that we find in the games of Yakuza (especially to Kamurocho) they offered us a gaijin packagewhich included one hour of karaoke and free drinks at a cost of 2000 yen. Once the threshold was exceeded, the cost was an additional 2000 yen per person for each additional half hour.
Entering our personal closet was suggestive, shortly after the employee joined us with our drinks and we started messing around with the Joysound which presented the exact same interface seen in Like a Dragon. Even though I only had a faint voice due to the cold (which by the way, is not a simple cold and I haven't gotten over it yet) I was able to try my hand at crazy duets like “Lion” from Macross Frontier together with Kurama,”again” Of FMA Brotherhood (really impossible) with Masterclassics like Cha-La Head-Cha-La And Dan dan kokoro hikareteku from Dragon Ballas well as the splendid ignited from Gundam SEED DESTINY. The evening ended with a loud chorus of “I want it that way” of the Backstreet Boys, which made us regret not having started immediately with a piece like that to degenerate who knows where in the pop panorama of the nineties. We split the hour, to the immense disappointment of the employees of Karaokekanand we headed home with a smile on our faces.
The next day our goals were Mitaka And Nakanobut we'll talk about this in the next article.
PS The last few days of the trip I had to succumb to tiredness and ill health and I was no longer able to write and publish the diaries while I was there in Tokyo. Now that I'm in Italy, although I haven't recovered yet, I'm trying to recover. Cheer for me!
#Giacomo #let39s
