Interest

New Gundam Entertainment Complex's Tour Video Posted

The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper's Mantan TV website began streaming a 214-second video tour of the new Gundam Front Tokyo entertainment complex on Monday.

The video shows the newly rebuilt 1/1-scale Gundam statue, Gundam Front Tokyo's collection of plastic models from throughout the franchise's history, and the complex's 16-meter-wide (52-foot-wide) hemispherical dome theater. Souvenirs such as Gundam mugs and cookies are available in the Gundam Front Tokyo shop. Gundam lattes and drinks available at Diver City Tokyo's Gundam Café, "GunPla-Yaki" — pastry snacks in the size and shape of the very first Gundam plastic model kit — filled with bean paste, cream, or other fillings as well as extra-long churros named "Beam Churro" after the Gundam franchise's beam sabers also feature in the video.

Gundam Front Tokyo opened on the seventh floor of the of Diver City Tokyo Plaza on Tokyo's Odaiba island next to the 1/1-scale Gundam statue on Thursday. Admission to the 2,050-square-meter (about 22,000-square-foot) space costs 1,000 yen (about US$13) for adults, but some areas are free. Attractions also include a project display zone with rare production materials, an archive counter that will offer visitors information on various Gundam projects, and "photospots" for taking pictures within the world of Gundam (with characters).

In addition to the Gundam Front Tokyo exhibits, Diver City Tokyo includes 154 shops such as UNIQLO, H&M, Forever21, and various restaurants. Japan's first Old Navy clothing store will open in the shopping center in July.