SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 Event in Osaka

August 14-16 at Rihga Royal Hotel Author: Tim Eldred, Cosmo DNA Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Official Site: yamato2199.net Official Event Site: rihga.co.jp/osaka/event/summer

An annual gathering is held at Rihga Royal Hotel, the "home hotel of Osaka," which bundles together several separate events under a single title, the Summer Festival. This year, one of those events will be SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 World. Based on the publicity announcements, it will revisit and build upon some of the summer events that took place elsewhere in 2013. Summer Festival 2014 will be held August 14-16, and the following attractions are on the agenda for visitors to YAMATO 2199 World: ? Voice actress Aya Uchida (Yuria Misaki) will be on hand for a talk show August 14, and science advisor Professor Toshihiro Handa will deliver a lecture on the astrophysics of the series. YAMATO 2199 goods both new and old will be sold in a gift shop. ? A "Plamodel corner" will hold hourly sessions in which a professional modeler will instruct ten participants at a time in the art and science of how to build kits from the miniature Mecha Collection series. ? A Yamato Photo Studio will allow visitors to combine their image with characters and scenes from the anime. A captain`s uniform will be available to adult participants, and photos can be output either as posters or on T-shirts at the gift shop. ? A walk-through exhibit will include two of Naoyuki Katoh`s live-painted Yamato murals, the 1/100 Yamato model, display panels featuring animation art and scientific commentary. Trailers will also be shown, and the Osaka Music Group will have a promotional corner. This is the orchestra that announced an alliance with YAMATO 2199 in May, and they will perform live in concert on the last day of the event.

? A hotel café will be remade into Yamato Café OMCS and offer meals straight off the shipboard menu. Customers will have to reserve their seats in advance for one of three sessions throughout the day, since only 30 meals will be prepared per session. The options will include the famed Magellanic Parfait, Space Navy Curry Rice, Solar Wind Fried Rice, Astro Potato Hamburgers, Yamato Beer, Yamato Cider, and other drinks named for specific characters. Elsewhere in the world of cuisine, something quite unique will be offered: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 planet chocolates. Rihga Royal Hotel`s Chocolat Boutique du Royal L`éclat, will be offering a boxed set containing Earth on the verge of destruction (chocolate with a hazelnut crunch), Planet Iscandar (caramel with salt), Planet Garmillas (layered white and black mint, garnished with gold leaf), the blue Earth (premium chocolate) and the Yamato`s Wave-Motion Gun (bitter chocolate with 58% cacao). These five-piece sets will only be available on the dates of the SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 World event. Only 200 sets will be sold each day, and sales will be done over-the-counter at L`éclat with no reservations, pre-orders or deliveries allowed. Price per set is ¥2700 (Approximately $26.35 US).

For more information on SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: