Nintendo Museum
The Nintendo Museum is a museum located in Kyoto, Japan, that features exhibits of Nintendo's products, from the hanafuda playing cards it produced when it was founded in 1889 to the Nintendo Switch. It was built on the site of the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant where the hanafuda and other playing cards were manufactured, and opened on October 2, 2024.[1] The museum was announced in a press release on June 2, 2021, under the tentative name Nintendo Gallery,[2] until it was revealed under its final name in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct, when it was originally set to open before March 2024.[3] On August 19, 2024, a Nintendo Direct was published where Shigeru Miyamoto provided a tour of the museum, many of the areas of which are themed after the Super Mario franchise, in addition to displays of a large variety of Super Mario-related products released by Nintendo since the early 1980s.[4] It is located at 56 Kaguraden, Ogura-cho, Uji-shi, Kyoto 611-0042.[5]
When visitors enter the Nintendo Museum, they will be issued entry passes known as "play tickets",[6] with the default design depicting a sprite of Mario from Super Mario Bros. Each play ticket contains 10 digital coins that can be used on the museum's interactive exhibits located on the first floor of Exhibition Building 1.
Exterior and plaza
Some of the lockers in the locker room near the entry gate of the Nintendo Museum resemble Game Boy cartridges, with some of them being cartridges of Super Mario games such as Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, and Yoshi.[7][8][9] The outside of the Nintendo Museum includes a plaza featuring Brick Blocks, a ? Block, an Empty Block, and a Super Mushroom, as well as two poles: a pixelated Goal Pole with Mario from Super Mario Bros. grabbing it, and a pole with fruit being climbed by Donkey Kong Jr. from the arcade game.[9] The floor is decorated with tiles depicting sprites of enemies and objects from Super Mario Bros., being coins, a Goomba, a Lakitu, a Super Star, a Koopa Troopa, a Buzzy Beetle, a Bullet Bill, and a big Super Mushroom (which has eyes like its sprite from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, although the rest of the sprite is more similar to its original Super Mario Bros. appearance).[10][11] A Checkpoint Flag is visible from the plaza, located on the roof of Exhibition Building 2 near the entrance.[9] The side of the entrance building facing Exhibition Building 2 depicts the clouds with eyes from Super Mario Bros. 3.[9] The roof of the Nintendo Museum features a large sprite of the ? Block from Super Mario Bros.[3]
Main entrance
The entrance to the museum features a group of multi-colored Toad statues, which produce sounds and harmonized vocals when their heads are pressed.[11][12] Other Super Mario-related decorations include a mural of artwork from Nintendo's games, an alcove with drawings of Mario and a Super Star by Miyamoto and his signature, and small sprites of characters from Super Mario Bros.[11] Also nearby is a rest area with shelves of strategy guides and a model of Donkey Kong on a girder in the style of the original arcade game.[11]
Nintendo product exhibits
On the second floor of Exhibition Building 1, there is an area that shows many games and consoles that Nintendo published in exhibit boxes for each region, including games of the Super Mario franchise. Screens depicting gameplay are positioned above the exhibits. There is also a display that shows the ? Block's appearances throughout the series.
Shigureden SP
Shigureden SP is an interactive exhibit consisting in a floor with a screen that can be scanned with a smart device to play a traditional Japanese card game. In this area, there are pillars made up of Brick Blocks and ? Blocks.
Ultra Machine SP
Ultra Machine SP is an exhibit consisting of small rooms where visitors can play a reproduction of the Ultra Machine, an indoor pitching toy made by Nintendo in 1968 that uses balls similar to those used in table tennis. Visitors can hit objects in the room, including Super Mario ones such as bottles that, once hit, react by displaying Mario and Luigi's names while rotating.
Ultra Hand SP
Ultra Hand SP is a section that involves using an Ultra Hand toy to grab moving Poké Balls and Voltorb and drop them into multi-colored pipes.
Zapper & Scope SP
Zapper & Scope SP is a Super Mario-themed activity in which visitors use either a NES Zapper or a Super Scope to shoot at enemies on a big screen. Points are awarded from shooting these enemies, while shooting Mario, Luigi, and Peach causes the player to lose points.
Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Classics is an area where over 80 single player and multiplayer Family Computer, Super Famicom, and Nintendo 64 games can be played for around five to seven minutes. Some Super Mario games like Donkey Kong for the Famicom are included in the exhibit. The library of games consists of those already available on Nintendo Switch Online.
Big Controller
Big Controller is a section where visitors can play Family Computer, Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, and Wii games, except that the controllers are giant, requiring two people to play. Playable games in the exhibit include Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Kart. Three scenes from Super Mario 64 are also playable:[4]
- Collect 50 coins!: Players have to collect 50 coins in Bob-omb Battlefield during the mission Big Bob-omb on the Summit. The course was modified to replace Bob-omb Buddies and signs with coins.[13]
- Defeat Whomp King!: Players have to defeat Whomp King in Whomp's Fortress.
- Defeat Bowser!: Players have to defeat Bowser in Bowser in the Dark World.
In the Nintendo Museum Direct, Miyamoto plays Super Mario Bros. with a Nintendo Museum employee as a demonstration.[4]
Craft Room
The second floor of Exhibition Building 3 features a room where visitors can create their own hanafuda cards, known as the Craft Room. Some of the lamps in the room are shaped like ? Blocks.[14]
Café and shop
A café and shop are located in Exhibition Building 3 and 2 respectively. The café, named Hatena Burger (Japanese for "? Burger"), allows visitors to create a custom burger with over 270,000 combinations and features seats with Brick Block textures. The shop, named Bonus Stage, features merchandise exclusive to the Nintendo Museum, including Super Mario-themed one. The logos of both locations feature a ? Block, referencing the café's namesake.
Gallery
Artwork and logos
Artwork of Mario
Artwork of Mario jumping
Logo for Hatena Burger
Logo for Bonus Stage
On-site photographs
The Toad statues at the entrance
The mural at the entrance
Shigeru Miyamoto's signature with drawings of Mario and a Super Star at the entrance
The rest area with the Donkey Kong model
The first floor of Exhibition Building 1, featuring the Shigureden SP exhibit
The second floor of Exhibition Building 1, featuring the product exhibits
The ? Block display on the second floor
Miscellaneous
A play ticket with a sprite of Mario
Photograph showing the ? Block on the roof and the Super Mario Bros. sprites in the plaza
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ニンテンドーミュージアム[11] Nintendō Myūjiamu |
Nintendo Museum |
References
- ^ Wong, M. (October 2, 2024). Nintendo’s very first museum offers a nostalgic trip back in video game time. CNN Travel. Retrieved October 2, 2024. (Archived October 2, 2024, 18:00:00 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Nintendo Co., Ltd. (June 2, 2021). Utilization of the land of the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant. nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved August 20, 2024. (Archived June 2, 2021, 01:05:18 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ a b Nintendo of America (September 14, 2023). Nintendo Direct 9.14.2023 - Nintendo Switch. YouTube. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ a b c Nintendo of America (August 19, 2024). Nintendo Museum Direct. YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ August 19, 2024. Nintendo Museum official website. nintendo.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. (Archived August 19, 2024, 22:17:56 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Play Tickets. nintendo.com. Retrieved September 20, 2024. (Archived August 19, 2024, 22:39:21 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ @Barton_Scott_K (October 2, 2024). 着いたーーーーーー！！！！ニンテンドーミュージアム！！！改めて本日オープンおめでとうございます！！コインロッカーがゲームボーイなのやばすぎーーーーー😭😭😭😭😭. X (Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2024. (Archived October 2, 2024, 20:09:54 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ 司破ダンプ (September 25, 2024). 「ニンテンドーミュージアムはん、看板も控えめにしてて京都をわかってはるわあ」と京都人が先行体験に行ってきた。景観条例にあわせたグレーの看板を見てまず安心、いざ館内へ入ったら、何もかもいけてる作りで任天堂イヤッフゥでした. 電ファミニコゲーマー (Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2024. (Archived October 2, 2024, 13:49:42 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ a b c d Eurogamer (October 3, 2024). 17 Hidden Nintendo References In The Nintendo Museum. YouTube. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ @JohnAndersen21 (June 25, 2024). An updated overhead view of the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan has been revealed via a May 24th update on Google Earth. Stone tile designers have added many Super Mario Bros. characters and one huge mushroom. The Nintendo Museum is scheduled to open this fall.. X. Retrieved August 23, 2024. (Archived August 23, 2024, 07:44:11 UTC via archive.today.)
- ^ a b c d e Hatanaka, K. (September 25, 2024). 「ニンテンドーミュージアム」フォトレポート！ 花札からSwitchまでの歴史を辿れる展示エリア. GAME Watch (Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2024. (Archived September 25, 2024, 11:11:25 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ September 25, 2024. かわいい！キノピオがコーラスで迎えてくれるエントランス【ニンテンドーミュージアム現地レポ】. Nintendo DREAM WEB (Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2024. (Archived September 25, 2024, 11:25:18 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ 時事通信映像センター (September 26, 2024). ニンテンドーミュージアム公開 巨大コントローラーでゲーム 任天堂. YouTube (Japanese). Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ 司破ダンプ (September 25, 2024). 「ニンテンドーミュージアムはん、看板も控えめにしてて京都をわかってはるわあ」と京都人が先行体験に行ってきた。景観条例にあわせたグレーの看板を見てまず安心、いざ館内へ入ったら、何もかもいけてる作りで任天堂イヤッフゥでした. 電ファミニコゲーマー (Japanese). Retrieved October 2, 2024. (Archived September 27, 2024, 11:04:05 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
