Life-Size Gundam to Bring in 40 Billion Yen to Shizuoka

By Tenkaijapan - Last updated: 土曜日, 1月 23, 2010 - Save & Share - 3 Comments

Life-Size Gundam

The Life-Size Gundam will be erected in front of Japan Railway’s Higashishizuoka Station in Shizuoka’s Aoki ward by July.

Shizuoka city calculates that the 1/1-scale, 18-meter-tall statue of the Gundam robot will bring 40 billion yen (US$440 million) into the local economy.

As part of the 30th anniversary of the Gundam anime franchise, the statue stood on the artificial island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay in summer 2009 and attracted 4.15 million visitors.

The duration of the statue’s stay in Shizuoka is still to be determined, but the city estimates that the statue can attract 900,000 visitors and 40 billion yen over the course of 300 days. According to the city, 9,600 jobs will be created for security, maintenance, and other operations at the site. More details about the exhibit’s duration and related events will be announced at the end of March.

After the statue’s initial stay in Shizuoka, there are plans to move it to another prefecture. However, it is slated to be eventually stationed near Shizuoka’s Bandai Hobby Center, the production factory for Bandai’s Gundam plastic model kits.

Bandai Hobby Center

The Center offers tours to visitors. On the tour, the visitor sees a video presentation of the complete Gundam plastic model production process,followed by a presentation on the Center’s unique moldcasting technologies and commitment to manufacturing,as well as its environmental activities.

Bandai Hobby Center
500-12, Naganuma, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka
Tel:054-208-7520

Map:Bandai Hobby Center

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