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Nintendo has announced that its long-awaited new museum will open in Kyoto this October.
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Intro
Japanese computer games giant Nintendo this week held a special online news update to preview its brand new museum in Kyoto and officially announce the opening date. In the latest Nintendo Direct video, the company revealed that the long-awaited Nintendo Museum will open on 2 October. The museum seems certain to become a global attraction for video games fans and it has the bonus of being easily accessible by train from Kyoto with the Japan Rail Pass.
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Welcome to the Nintendo Museum
Hosted by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, this week’s Nintendo Direct announced the opening date of the world’s first Nintendo Museum in Kyoto and even gave viewers a sneak peek inside. Here are the highlights of what to expect when the museum has its grand opening on 2 October:
- The outside entrance - formerly a car park filled with delivery trucks - has been transformed into a colourful Mario-themed plaza.
- The museum will have two floors - one filled with interactive games and the other filled with exhibits from Nintendo’s long history.
- There will be a Nintendo-themed cafe and a shop.
- A live hour-long interactive experience where visitors can design and make their own Hanafuda cards - a nod to Nintendo’s history and original business producing playing cards. More on that in our history of Nintendo section below.
- Visitors will receive digital coins to spend within the museum when they buy a ticket which can be used
- Tickets cost 3,300 yen ($23 USD) for adults and lower rates for children
- Nintendo are currently running a lottery to win tickets, which you can enter here. For details on tickets and prices visit the official Nintendo Museum website.
The eight interactive games at the museum are described on the official Nintendo Museum website. They are:
- Shigureden SP
Explore Hyakunin Isshu poems using smart devices and the giant screen on the floor.
2. Zapper & Scope SP
Experience shooting using the Zapper and Super Scope in the world of Mario that spreads out on the giant screen in front of you.
3. Ultra Machine SP
A batting-cage experience inside a room. Hit the balls pitched by the Ultra Machine.
4. Ultra Hand SP
Use the Ultra Hand to grab the balls rolling down the lanes, and drop them into the pipes.
5. Love Tester SP
Two people join hands and work together on tests that measure their Love Level.
6. Game & Watch SP
Play Game & Watch games using your own shadow.
7. Nintendo Classics
Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64. Choose from over 80 games to play.
8. Big Controller
Controllers from past hardware generations made giant. Two people must work together to take on challenges in games released back in the day.
All of these interactive games look and sound incredibly fun - particularly big controllers - and we’d encourage you to watch Shigeru Miyamoto’s presentation to see some of the games in action. You can watch the Nintendo Direct focussed on the Nintendo Museum here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CSWjjbWm30.jpg)
Where is the Nintendo Museum?
Opening on 2 October, the Nintendo Museum will be located in Kyoto's Uji City. It will be on the same site as Nintendo’s former Uji Ogura Plant. Back in 1969, this building was still being used for producing trading cards and toy repairs before the company moved into video games - and the rest is history as they say.
How to get to the Nintendo Museum
When the museum officially opens in October, visiting couldn’t be easier with the JR Pass. To reach the Nintendo Museum, just take a quick 30-min train journey from Kyoto Station north to Uji on the JR Nara Line from Kyoto. If you hop off at Uji Station you’ll be within walking distance of the city centre. As well as being a home to Nintendo, Uji, Kyoto, is famous for its matcha green tea, Byodo-in Temple, and the Tale of Genji - believed to be the world’s first novel. Read our guide to Visit Uji with the JR Pass for more..jpg)
Nintendo’s Surprising History
Did you know that Nintendo’s history - as featured in their new museum - dates all the way back to 1899? This may come as a surprise considering the company is famous for producing state of the art video games, but it’s true. Nintendo are over a century old. So how is this possible? Well, when Nintendo was first established in Kyoto, Japan, at the end of the 19th Century, their original business was producing playing cards rather than computer games. They were very successful for many decades, but their fortunes would head in an exciting new direction following advances in technology in the 1960s and 1970s that led to the birth of the modern era of gaming. All of this and more will be chronicled in the attractions within Nintendo’s new museum.
Japan changed the computer games industry forever and has dominated the gaming landscape for decades, from the console wars of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s to incredible technological breakthroughs and the creation of world-famous and hugely popular characters like Sonic and Mario. While the very first computer game, Space War, was created in the US in the 1960s, Japan would lead the way thereafter with the likes of Taito’s Space Invaders in 1978 and Namco’s Pacman in 1980. Released in 1983, the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) console (or Famicom as it was known in Japan) revolutionised the home console market. Released in the US two years later, it became one of the most popular consoles of the 1980s, and of all time - selling 60 million units. Sega’s Master System was one of its main competitors during the early days of the console wars between the two Japanese companies. In 1989, Nintendo released the Gameboy which did for portable games what the NES had done for home consoles. Nintendo and Sega continued their rivalry into the 1990s with the Super Nintendo console and Sega Megadrive respectively (plus their famous mascots, Mario for Nintendo and Sonic for Sega) before a new rival emerged in the form of Sony’s PlayStation. The three Japanese companies continued to lead the way for many years afterwards. Today, Nintendo remains at the very top thanks to modern day consoles like the Wii and Switch, which have been hugely successful worldwide and their much-loved franchise such as Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, and many more. With Hollywood movies adapting their characters, such as Mario, and a forthcoming Zelda movie in the works, as well as the Switch 2 rumoured for 2025, Nintendo are likely to continue their growth and dominance of the gaming industry for many years to come..jpg)
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios
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Bonus Recommendations
The new Nintendo museum and Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios are just the beginning of video game fans who visit Japan. Check out these bonus recommendations:
- Ever wanted to race your friends in a real-life giant sized Mario Kart? Amazingly you can actually do this on the streets of Tokyo. The races are organised and run by Street Kart Tokyo Bay using the name MariCAR. One thing to bear in mind is that you’ll need an international driver’s licence to compete. Read our guide to Weird and Wonderful Japan for more.
- Did you know that you can spend the night in Nintendo’s former headquarters from 1933 in Kyoto? Read our guide to Japan’s Most Unusual Accommodation for more.
- Looking for more on theme parks? Find out everything you need to know about Japan’s DisneySea Resort.
- Looking for more museum ideas? How about a museum dedicated to Japan’s beloved Studio Ghibli. Find out more in our guide to the Ghibli Museum.
- Meanwhile, we’ve got much more for video game lovers in our guide to visiting Japan for Gamers, Otaku, and J-Culture fans.
