A Huge Step Forward in Robotics for the Earth Federation of Yokohama: The RX-78F00

If you’re a fan of Mobile Suit Gundam, you’ve probably heard of the life-sized models of RX-78-2 and RX-0 Unicorn that were built and displayed in Odaiba, Japan. I was lucky enough to see both while studying abroad in Japan in 2013 and recently while living here. Though various parts of their armor can transform and become illuminated at night, they unfortunately are not advanced enough to fully move like the Gundam in the anime series can. However, thanks to cutting-edge advancements in robotics from the Earth Federation of Yokohama, a full-scale moving Gundam now stands at the Gundam Factory available for all to see as of December 19th, 2020!

Like in the original series, this Gundam (named RX-78F00) is almost the exact image of the RX-78-2 and is 59 feet tall. It even was designed with a realistic cockpit although it currently cannot be operated. However, there is hope that it will be fully implemented some day! For the time being there is a 5G pilot experience sponsored by Softbank available within the museum area called the Academy which simulates the controls from a first-person viewpoint. The Gundam performs slightly different movements every 30 ~ 60 mins depending on what time of day you arrive then returns to standby within the dock. I arrived with my friend around 13:30 on a Sunday afternoon which was perfect because we were able to watch two different movement productions. While waiting you can easily kill time at the cafe or in the Academy reading about the technology behind this amazing mobile suit.

In the video that I captured below, you can see the Gundam emerge from the dock and fully operate its arms and legs which is unbelievable for a robot of its size. As it becomes activated, its eyes flash and audio plays along with it to heighten the tension of the moment. It truly does feel like a battle is about to begin on the pier at first, but the Gundam’s movements are completely friendly and non-hostile. Think of this as a test run:

Weekday Hours: 11:30 ~ 19:30
Weekend Hours: 10:30 ~ 19:30
Admission Fee: 1650 yen for basic entry // 3300 yen for the Gundam Dock Tower*

*Tickets need to be purchased in advance from the official website, but can be purchased on the same day. I recommend buying the normal entrance ticket unless you really want to see the Gundam up close from the viewing deck. I was satisfied with what I saw with the basic admission fee.

Currently with every ticket purchase you are given a 1/200 RX-78F00 Gunpla upon entrance. How cool is that!?

Once you show your ticket at the door and proceed to enter, the Gundam is impossible to miss. The area around it is quite spacious so I never once felt like it was crowded though there were a number of people here. We were fortunate enough to come on a sunny day so the sky and the clouds were clearly visible. The sun was shining on the ocean too. This was almost better than anime! Almost. I deeply appreciated the thumbs up I got at the end of this performance:

How does it move?

In the Academy you can read various infographics on how the Gundam was built and also leave your own message on paper notes outside. Though it doesn’t use Minovsky Particles or Luna Titanium Alloy, this mobile suit is biologically structured similarly to human anatomy and utilizes the latest technology in robotics to move. I will summarize my most interesting discoveries in the passage below:

Gundam Prototypes?

Within the Academy you will also see two Gundam prototypes; or robots that helped inspire the blueprints and framework for the moving RX-78F00. The first is WABOT-1 developed by Waseda University in Japan in the 1970s, which is credited as the first robot that could naturally walk like a human. The biggest challenge of getting a robot to walk is balance, as weight must be controlled on each leg with perfect timing or else the robot will fall over. Humans naturally pick up this ability while learning to walk as babies, but programming this habit into a robot is a different story. Due to the massive size of the RX-78F00, a device called a “reducer” also known as a gearbox was used it control its movements during bipedal walking. Even though the Gundam cannot currently walk on its own using the latest technology, the fact that it can move and form various positions is a huge step forward for science.

The 2nd prototype (or inspiration) is the HRP-2 which was designed by AIST and Kawada Industries to assist humans with various work-related tasks. This robot weighs 58kg and is 154cm tall making it the same size as a human. The HRP-2 was created in 2003 and can walk on uneven terrain while maintaining its balance. It can even get back into an upright position when falling down making it an extremely advanced robot. While it is still limited in what it can do, the HRP-2 displays signs of self-awareness which is vital in the future of developing AI for robots.

So what is in store for the future of robotics?

Though it is still unclear, there are many people backing the Gundam Global Challenge and anyone is free to contribute their ideas! It’s amazing to see how much this project has advanced since the first RX-78 Gundam was built in 2009. Nearly 10 years later we have a fully moving scale Gundam in Yokohama, and perhaps we will have a hovering one by the end of this decade. The writers of Gundam ZZ’s opening song “Anime Ja Nai” knew it all along, but here is proof that Gundam is not just anime—it’s the real driving force behind the Earth Federation of Yokohama.

Souvenirs & Final Thoughts

Because no trip around the space colony is complete without souvenirs, you can find all of these Gundam goodies and more available for sale at the factory’s gift shop! Since I’ve been to the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara already, some of the merchandise was already familiar to me, but my personal favorites here were the Haro popcorn balls and “milky marrons” because they had the best aesthetic design. I also loved seeing the standalone Gundam-themed Coca Cola vending machine outside too. Like a custom paint job on a Gunpla, you gotta admire that customization. My friend and I decided to order hot Gundam lattes and split the Haro-shaped red bean bun because why not? That’s exactly what Gundam pilots would do if they visited the Gundam Factory in Yokohama between battles, and we were here for the full experience!

Overall I had much more fun here than I originally imagined learning about robotics and seeing the Gundam move perfectly in synch with the audio. I would love to come back here at night and see it illuminated too! I hope that when I next visit the RX-78F00 will have even more moves for me to see, but until then I will fondly remember this experience.

Epic Finds in Okayama: Okonomiyaki Serving Robots & Dinosaur Parks (Japan)

Over the weekend I traveled to Hiroshima Prefecture for the Pasocom Ongaku Club Nightflow Tour at two locations in rural Japan. The events touched my heart so I will be writing a detailed report about their music in a future post, but first I wanted to point out two amazing places I found along the way while backpacking!

Next to Hiroshima Prefecture lies Okayama Prefecture, which is less than an hour away by shinkansen (bullet train). I have traveled here before to explore Kurashiki, a famous canal town that attracts a lot of tourists, but here are some other off the beaten path recommendations I have for those who are visiting the area:

Shinju: The Okonomiyaki Serving Robot Restaurant

In this area of Japan, okonomiyaki–a pancake usually served with bacon, fried noodles, and vegetables–is an extremely popular dish. The name “okonomiyaki” literally means “to one’s liking” so you can usually customize your order with other ingredients (such as seafood) or ask for a vegetarian version as well.

At Shinju, the extremely hardworking “NUMBER-ONE-ROBOT” will serve the ingredients you order directly to your table so you can cook the okonomiyaki yourself! Wearing an adorable Disney hat and greeting you in a friendly tone, this robot does everything it can to make you feel welcome:

I decided to order the seafood okonomiyaki set with noodles. I’ve had this dish before, but it’s been a long time since I prepared it on a hotplate myself. The kind staff taught me the correct way to flip the pancake batter on the noodles to create the perfect okonomiyaki. If you are unsure of how to do this, they will be sure to assist you (it’s actually quite easy once you get the hang of it):

After about 10-15 minutes of cooking, we ended up with this delicious result:

The perfect seafood okonomiyaki with fried noodles, shrimp, octopus, and squid.

Not only is okonomiyaki delicious, but it’s also the perfect hangover food. Overall the service here was above average and the staff even sat down and talked to me for a while. I told them all about the event and how much I enjoy backpacking in Asia because it’s generally very safe to travel here.

The joke of the day was how the robot here resembled the robot on the Pasocom Ongaku Club Promotional flyer (drawn by Satoshi Kurosaki):

This was the best okonomiyaki restaurant I have ever been to, so I recommend it to literally everyone!

Shinju Address:

真珠
87 Higashihirajima, Higashi Ward, Okayama, 709-0631

Kasaoka Dinosaur Park

Remember when the dinosaurs invaded rural Japan? I remember, because I was there!

On the way back to Hiroshima for the 2nd event I was going to, I decided to stop by Kasaoka, Okayama, because it is the closest major city near the border. Here I was elated to find a park full of dinosaurs outside of the Horseshoe Crab Museum! Unfortunately I didn’t have time to go inside the museum, but I had a ton of fun photographing the dinosaurs in the park (which is free to visit).

I really find it odd that someone decided to put these dinosaurs all the way out here in rural Japan. What inspired this park, and are there deeper secrets buried here in Kasaoka that are waiting to be discovered? I will be searching for more places to visit like this in the future because I simply find them fascinating. There’s so much more to discover in Japan than simply Tokyo–epic finds are literally everywhere.

Kasaoka Horseshoe Crab Museum Address:

Kabutogani Horseshoe Crab Museum
1946-2 Yokoshima, Kasaoka, Okayama 714-0043

Please look forward to the rest of my Hiroshima blog series! I will be publishing it both this and next week~

This is the Future: Shinjuku VR Zone Analysis & Review

Welcome to the VR World

Since the beginning of my early childhood, I had always dreamed of escaping reality and entering a virtual world. Not because I had a bad life (because I actually had a really good life), but because I was heavily influenced by anime and games as a kid and wanted to live in a fully interactive world where I could freely express myself. My fascination with VR started when I first watched Digimon as a kid, then later grew as I became engrossed with Yu-Gi-Oh! (specifically season 3) and Sword Art Online. When I entered college, I had the opportunity to test VR games with an Oculus Rift through my university’s gaming program, and even got to try some indie VR games at Tokyo Game Show last year! Just recently in 2017 the Shinjuku VR Zone has opened in Tokyo as an experimental VR gaming arcade and playground for the public to try out, so naturally I had to go and visit! Currently boasting 15 different immersive activities and an interactive VR exhibition by Tokyo Art City, this zone is growing at a rapid rate and was definitely worth the trip!

The System

I came here early Saturday morning with my friend visiting from America who is also a huge nerd like myself. We purchased 4 different colored tickets online (each for a different selection of games) so we could ensure that we got in. Tickets are available at the door, but some attractions are so popular that you may not be guaranteed entry so I recommend booking in advance online. You can buy tickets in sets of 4 (for 4,400 yen) and also individually (for around 1,200 each). After showing our tickets at the door, we were welcomed in by friendly staff and decided to explore the area! At the center of the building we saw a hologram projected on the wall and a giant glowing VR tree structure looking like it was radiating powerful energy. This was such a fitting atmosphere–I already felt like I was the hero of a sci-fi series!

Immersive Horror Room

After staring in awe at all of the cutting-edge decorations, we made our way to our first game, which was the Immersive Horror Room (IHR), just because we wanted to be thoroughly spooked before we had to wait in line for the more popular attractions. IHR was overall the best way to start our VR experience because the wait for short and the game was extremely entertaining and high quality. The aesthetic was very Silent Hill-esque and some parts of it actually made me scream out loud. Fortunately, I was not the only one!

While sitting down with VR helmets, you and your partner control characters in a wheelchair and navigate through a haunted house full of wicked obstacles and enemies that try to kill you. It was a bit hard to get used to at first, but you could use a flashlight to choose different directions so the gameplay was easy to learn. At one point, I triggered an alarm and was blindfolded and captured by the enemy. Once I regained my vision, I was strapped to the floor and couldn’t move my character was twisted figured surrounded me and other victims. I watched them murder characters around me one by one with gruesome weapons and was truly terrified that I was next. Luckily my friend was able to solve a puzzle and save me just in the nick of time! The game has multiple scenarios, and you can see and talk to your partner through a headset. Though we won the game, it had a “To be continued…” screen at the end implying that it might be developed into a “real” full-length game someday. I really hope that it is because it was a lot of fun and it was truly immersive making me feel a lot of terror, suspense and excitement! I would rather pay for this than go to a horror movie any day.

Evangelion: Throne of Souls

Next, we decided to go to the Evangelion Throne of Souls attraction, because who doesn’t want to pilot a giant robot!? Since I was 14 (the same age as the pilots) I’ve wanted to volunteer myself at NERV HQ, so I am happy that nearly after 10 years later I can finally achieve my dream! This VR attraction was extremely personalized and you could choose to pilot Unit 00, 01, or 03, and see a launch sequence that made you feel like you were in midair! After launching, you need to stealthily navigate through Tokyo-3 and pick up weapons along the way to destroy the AT field of a giant Sachiel with your partner co-op style. The simulation was amazing because when you looked down at yourself, you were wearing a plug suit, and piloting the Eva felt a bit narrow and clunky just like its frame implies. It felt genuine–like nothing else I have ever experienced before. My only complaint is that there weren’t multiple stages and the simulation was so short. In the future I really hope they give you the option to pay more to continue, because I definitely would!

VR Mario Kart

Next we made our way to everyone’s favorite attraction–VR Mario Kart. The wait for this was nearly an hour, but there were places to sit while waiting in line (unlike Tokyo Disney and Universal) so the wait was actually quite pleasant. The game was complete with 4 different players going against one another! They let you choose your character (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, or Peach), and I of course chose Princess Peach! The game sequence begins with the 4 of you lined up at the starting point, and all of you can communicate through the headset! Then 2 popular villains show up, and you must all race them to the finish! Along the way you can pick up and throw turtle shells, whack other players with hammers, and also throw bombs at one another! Fortunately blue shell VR technology has not been developed yet (and for the sake of friendship, it hopefully never will). The game was very fun and had a lot of obstacles that balanced out who stayed in first. You could not customize your car so everyone plays on equal ground. Being launched in the air and flying through the sky was my favorite part! I came in 3rd but I had a wonderful time and was glowing after the experience. I highly recommend doing this one, because before a long-term VR world like SAO and Accel World is developed, this is a once in a lifetime experience.

Panic Cube

The last attraction that we did was one called Panic Cube which is a non-VR activity where you are locked in a prison cell and must solve puzzles on a giant touch screen while handcuffed or else a giant balloon will pop and you will meet your end! We were specifically asked not to publish any hints about this game online by the staff so I will respect their policy, but one thing I recommend is not sharing the cuffs with your partner. We did this thinking it would make the game easier, but it did not! We sadly lost in the simulation, but it was still a fun way to die.

Final Thoughts

After finally processing this mind-blowing experience, I am eternally thankful for my trip here. To those who truly interested in VR and have the money, I highly recommend it because currently this is one of the most cutting-edge public areas where you can have a hands-on VR experience. However, unfortunately the long wait lines and ticket purchasing policy ruin some of the momentum, so if you are just looking to spend the day at an arcade playing with a friend then I would recommend going to something like a Taito game center instead. I really liked how clean the place was as well. They make all players wear a face mask before putting on the VR helmet and also thoroughly wipe down the controls before the next players get in (hence the long wait). It is reassuring to know that the facility is well-maintained and treated with respect so it was last long! It is clear that this is a very experimental project and a lot of the games they have are still in development, but it is drawing a crowd and gradually expanding! Being one of the first to try it out truly made me feel like a hero.

Because I know that my money is going to a good cause, I will likely return in the future. I would really like to try the Gundam, Dragonball, and VR rock climbing games next time. I have high hopes that they will develop more angels for me to fight and more courses in Mario Kart that I can go back and triumph over. From 8bit to virtual reality, I will always appreciate the glorious gaming world that has forever influenced my life.