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A 1/1 life-size 59 feet high Gundam statue, created during the 30th anniversary celebration just last year, has been scheduled for its next appearance in nearby Shizuoka, an hour to an hour and a half by bullet train away from Tokyo. It will sit on the North side of the JR Shizuoka station, with the backdrop of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain, in sight.

Last summer the Gundam figure at Shiokaze park in Odaiba was a big hit and drew many visitors, from die-hard anime fans to curious bypassers, flooded the park on every weekends just to catch a glimpse of the statue.

Shizuoka Hobby City Assiciation together with the Shizuoka Prefecture Government, the organizers, created the plan to bring back the life-size Gundam figure and other related events for this summer. Shizuoka often regarded as the world’s plastic model capital, where it housed the largest plastic model making industry in Japan.

Further details will be announced on the website somewhere in March. www.city.shizuoka.jp (in Japanese)

Japan Weather Association a nonprofit organisation, has announced this week the prediction for sakura blooming time this year. Spring like weather has moved in causing the temperature to rise, resulting in the sakura flower buds to be ripen at a faster pase. Early blooming dates are expected to be observed in many areas, some places as early as 3 days to around week. Once sakura buds open up, they usually become in full bloom within 10 days. The blooming period of sakura is short. It’s about 5-12 days, depending on the kind of cherry trees and the weather condition.

Japan Meteorological Agency selected cherry trees under the close watch, are located all over Japan except for Okinawa, have been used for the purpose of pin-pointing sakura bloom predictions. Data collected have shown that Fukuoka located in the south is expected to be the earliest to bloom on March 19, along with Oita, Saga, Kumamoto and other cities in the Kyushu region to follow suit. Tokyo is forecasted to see the first bloom on March 23, with the Sakura front line moving up across Japan, ending with Nemuro in Hokkaido expected to be the latest to experience the sakura bloom in May, more than a month apart.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has ceased providing forecast, leaving 3 other non-governmental organisations, Weather Map Co., Ltd, Weathernews Inc., and Japan Weather Association to provide the public with updates and forecast. Forecasts are updated every week.

Weathernews Inc., a private weather service, collects information by asking tens of thousands of volunteers to send in photos of sakura buds by e-mail to track its reading. Whereas predictions made by Japan Weather Association, and Japan Meteorological Agency in the past, are largely based on the analysis of past blooming times and temperature patterns.

Prediction for the other cities; Kyoto on Mar.28, Osaka on Mar.29, Nagoya on Mar.26 and Sendai on Apr.11