Usually, individuals visiting Kyoto in October are drawn to witness Momijigari, the onset of autumn leaves in the city’s picturesque parks. However, this autumn season, a brand new attraction will emerge: the Nintendo Museum.
The recently opened museum can be described as a sanctuary of video game nostalgia. On its upper level, Nintendo’s array of video game consoles, spanning from the 1983 Famicom to the 2017 Switch, are proudly showcased alongside their most renowned games. Displayed on the back wall are toys, playing cards, and other relics from the company’s pre-video game era. Downstairs, an interactive exhibit features comically oversized controllers and projected playing cards on the floor.
Situated on the premises of a former video game company’s production facility in Uji, a 20-minute train ride south of central Kyoto, the museum anticipates up to 2,000 visitors daily. Tickets, priced at 3,300 yen (£17) for adults, are obtainable through a lottery system and tend to sell out three months in advance. Established in 1969, Nintendo’s Uji-Kokura factory initially produced toys and playing cards, which were the company’s primary source of income. Following the onset of the video game era in the 1970s, it transitioned into a customer service center for game console repairs until 2016. The location is quite distant from other tourist spots in Kyoto, with nearby suburban towns undergoing station upgrades in preparation for Kyoto Station’s renovation. The influx of visitors adorned in Mario hats was evident.
Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s creative genius, the creator of iconic series such as Mario and Zelda, and a significant influence on the museum’s curation, collaborated with the company during the factory’s operation in the 1970s and 1980s. He frequented the site often. At a press conference held during a preview event at the museum last week, Miyamoto remarked, “This place holds memories. We were exploring ways to preserve it, and the concept of transforming it into a museum emerged.” The initial headquarters on Toba Kaido was also considered as a potential museum site, but the decision was made to opt for Uji due to its convenient transportation despite its current dilapidated state. As the original site of their first factory, the intent was to contribute to the area’s revitalization in collaboration with the local community.
Each visitor is allocated 10 virtual coins to utilize on the interactive exhibits. An adjacent Hanafuda workshop enables guests to craft their own playing cards, complemented by a café serving custom burgers. Despite Nintendo’s notorious secrecy surrounding its creative process and trade secrets, the exhibit lacks insights into the creation of the games and consoles displayed, or the individuals involved in their development. A glimpse of the factory’s prototype controller is the only visible display behind a curtain.
This museum is part of the growing trend of video game-themed tourist destinations in Japan. For years, video game enthusiasts from around the world have flocked to Tokyo’s Akihabara, known as the “otaku mecca”. It boasts abundant electronics stores, former arcade establishments, retro game shops, secluded arcade cabinet boutiques, and numerous manga and anime-themed cafes. Moreover, Osaka’s Universal Studios, among the top three most visited theme parks worldwide, hosts Super Nintendo World, while major Japanese cities feature themed attractions for popular games like Kirby, Monster Hunter, and Final Fantasy, alongside themed restaurants. Additionally, a Pokemon-themed park is in development in Inagi City, Tokyo.
Bloomberg’s Japan columnist, Gearoid Reidy, stated, “Companies like Nintendo play a vital role in Japan’s cultural exports. These cultural exports and tourism share a symbiotic relationship. Travelers come to Japan, intrigued by entities like Nintendo, and gradually assimilate new trends that they encounter and take them back home, akin to the evolution of ramen’s popularity over recent decades.”
Reidy further expressed, “Currently, companies such as Sega and Sanrio, as well as properties like Jujutsu Kaisen and Elden Ring, are key factors driving the influx of people into the country.” The Japanese government’s recent Cool Japan Strategy, unveiled in June, aims to quadruple the global market for video games, manga, anime, and other cultural exports over the next decade. For Nintendo, the museum serves as a means to uphold its corporate legacy. Miyamoto insisted, “Through our previous works, I hope you can grasp the essence of Nintendo. It would be a shame to let something as significant as this collect dust in a warehouse.”
Source: www.theguardian.com
