A Nintendo Pilgrimage [part 5]: My Unforgettable Week in Kyoto

The Nintendo Museum - Final Hour of Our Visit

After immersing ourselves in the main exhibits of the Nintendo Museum (see previous parts of this trip report here and here), closing time approached—and one very important task remained: choosing what to buy at the museum store.

As we left the interactive area on the lower floor, we passed through a corridor lined with display windows containing historic Nintendo artifacts. These included console prototypes, old marketing materials, and photographs of game and card production processes over time.

Sadly, this area also has a strict "no photography" policy, so the few images shown here come from Nintendo’s official press kit.

The displays are organized in reverse chronology, moving further back in time as you walk. The final showcase is especially memorable: a large wooden cupboard with sliding doors and dozens of drawers labeled for different hanafuda card sets.

This cupboard originally stood in Nintendo’s former headquarters on Shōmen-dōri in Kyoto—now the Marufukuro hotel—making it a fitting conclusion to our journey through Nintendo’s history: back to where it started.

Mounted nearby is a framed piece of calligraphy that once hung in Nintendo main office at the time, and has now found a home in the museum. It features two of the three kanji from the company’s name—「任」and「天」—expressing the idea of trusting fate and “leaving luck to heaven.”

Exit Through the Gift Shop

And now, the moment of truth for our wallets. Stepping into the gift shop—cheekily called the "Bonus Stage"—we were immediately overwhelmed by the options.

A staggering 145 unique items were available (yes, I counted), all exclusive to the museum. Buying one of everything would set you back ¥335,885 (yes, I counted that too).

Since opening day, the selection has grown even further, with more items added in 2025.

Some products feature the Nintendo Museum logo—glasses, hats, cookies, and more.

A Nintendo Pilgrimage [part 4]: My Unforgettable Week in Kyoto

Touring the Nintendo Museum collection - Let’s Get (Inter)active

After finishing our exploration of first part of the Nintendo Museum, we headed downstairs to the lower level.

This section of the museum is dedicated to interactive exhibits—eight in total:

• Shigureden SP
• Ultra Machine SP
• Ultra Hand SP
• Love Tester SP
• Game & Watch SP
• Zapper & Scope SP
• Big Controller
• Nintendo Classics

Along with the workshops, this is where visitors can get hands-on with Nintendo’s past.

Most of these exhibits include the "SP" label, short for "Special," a nod to enhanced or modernized versions of classic items (much like the Game Boy Advance SP).

The lower level also includes a number of additional displays that complement the product showcase upstairs, adding context to the interactive experiences. Photography is allowed on this floor.

Shigureden SP

At the center of this area is Shigureden SP. The name refers to Shigureden, a museum opened in 2006 by then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district, which was centered around Ogura Hyakunin Isshu cards. Like Hanafuda, these are traditional Japanese playing cards and among Nintendo’s oldest products.

The game’s objective is to match card pairs containing fragments of classical poetry faster than your opponent. A card is shown on your handheld screen, and you must find its match on a giant digital display embedded in the floor.

The setup resembles the original Shigureden installation (now closed), although in this version Nintendo DS consoles have been replaced by mobile devices.

Next to Shigureden SP is a large display dedicated to Nintendo’s rich legacy in playing cards.

The exhibit showcases a wide array of designs, shapes, and sizes produced over the decades. The cards are presented in chronological order, from left to right.

A Nintendo Pilgrimage [part 3]: My Unforgettable Week in Kyoto

Opening day at the Nintendo Museum

It is Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024. After months of waiting, and a few very special moments the day before, we finally arrived at our main destination: the Nintendo Museum.

The museum is just a short walk from Ogura Station in the southern part of Kyoto. From above, it’s easy to spot—thanks in a large part to the massive question block painted on its roof.

That question block perfectly captured our mindset that morning: full of curiosity about what awaited inside. Although the Nintendo Direct from August had revealed some details, and press coverage had surfaced a week ahead of the opening (a media event was hosted on September 23), we’d avoided spoilers appearing in our news and social media feeds, to keep the surprise intact.

As this was the grand opening, there was extra buzz at the entrance, with media on-site to document the moment.

Some fans who had not secured tickets still came just to see the museum from outside—and take a selfie, of course.

We also took the photo opportunity at the museum sign, commemorating the day.

While waiting for our time slot, we ran into fellow Nintendo enthusiasts who recognized us from our books and online posts (including this blog).

A Nintendo Pilgrimage [part 2]: My Unforgettable Week in Kyoto

Touchdown in Kyoto

After months of anticipation, my Japan trip began on October 1st, 2024. And the very first day already brought a number of highlights.

A direct flight from Amsterdam took thirteen hours to reach Kansai Airport in Osaka Bay.

From there, a short train ride brought me to my destination for the week: Kyoto!

With some time to spare before checking into my hotel, I headed to the Nintendo store.

The Kyoto Nintendo Store—one of only three in Japan at the time (the others being in Osaka and Tokyo)—offers a wide range of exclusive merchandise.

I managed to restrain myself, knowing there would be more shopping opportunities ahead at the museum store.

A Night at Marufukuro

Next stop: the Marufukuro hotel.

There I was joined by Florent and Fabrice, who had traveled to Kyoto separately. We would spend much of the coming days together.

Nintendo playing cards featuring Marilyn Monroe

Vintage company documents are a great resource for historians and collectors. Like this Nintendo Playing Cards report from the 1950s, which was covered in full in a previous post.

It shows the range of playing card designs offered by Nintendo at the time.

At the center of the page featuring 'PR cards' is a deck with one of the most iconic images to come out of the United States in the 20th century: Marilyn Monroe lying on a bed sheet.

Although the inclusion of this card in the company report confirmed it was part of Nintendo's product catalogue at the time, we had never seen an actual copy.

Until today!

This copy was recently discovered by Nintendo playing card collector Fabrice Heilig, and I acquired it on his behalf.

A Nintendo Pilgrimage [part 1]: My Unforgettable Week in Kyoto

Last October, I embarked on what can only be described as the most unforgettable Nintendo week of my life.

It all unfolded in Kyoto — the birthplace of Nintendo and still the beating heart of all things Nintendo.

Over the course of just seven days, I visited the Nintendo store, spent a night at the historic Marufukuro hotel (the former Nintendo headquarters), and experienced the Nintendo Museum on its opening day—and again two days later. We met, for the first time as a group, with long-time friends and fellow Nintendo historians, tracked down a copy of a rare and significant document from Nintendo's history, and enjoyed dinner with the legendary Satoru Okada, former head of R&D at Nintendo. We paid our respects to his late mentor, Gunpei Yokoi, and ended the journey with a visit to Super Nintendo World in Osaka.

It was a week packed with memories, insights, and fun activities — too much to cover in a single blog post. So this will be a series, where I will do my best to share the experience. Let's-a go!

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It's not going to happen, or is it?

In an interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream before to the opening of the Nintendo Museum, Shigeru Miyamoto - the legendary game designer and unofficial director of the museum - reflected on its creation:

今回ミュージアムを作ろうと決めたとき、一番心配したのは山内（山内溥さん、元任天堂社長）がいたら「そんなもんやめとけ」と言うだろうな、ということでした。

When we decided to create the museum, my biggest worry was thinking, "If Yamauchi-san were still around, he'd probably say, 'Don't bother with something like that.'"

For decades, Hiroshi Yamauchi, the long-time president of Nintendo, guided the company with a relentless focus on innovation over retrospection. This mindset made the idea of a museum seem at odds with Nintendo’s forward-thinking philosophy. Honestly, until a few years ago, I also believed that Nintendo would never "bother with that."

Yet here we are. In a Nintendo Direct streamed in August 2024, Shigeru Miyamoto stands at the entrance of the soon-to-be-opened Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan.

A Museum Years in the Making

The first announcement came three years earlier, in June 2021, when Nintendo revealed its intention to establish "...a new gallery to showcase the many products Nintendo has launched over its history...as a way to share Nintendo’s product development history and philosophy with the public."

The location was also confirmed: "... the Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant will be renovated to accommodate the gallery, a decision reached after taking consideration of The City of Uji’s plan of re-developing the nearby Ogura Station area".

The Nintendo Uji Plant back in 1970

The Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant is a facility on the outskirts of Kyoto that had been in use since the 1970s but was inactive since 2016.

The Uji Plant at around the time of the 'Nintendo Gallery' announcement

An artist’s impression included in the press release offered a first glimpse of the planned transformation.

The announcement sparked great excitement among the Nintendo fan community, myself included. But patience was required—three years of it, as Nintendo clarified that "the facility, tentatively named 'Nintendo Gallery'... is expected to be completed within our 2023 Fiscal Year, which ends in March 2024."

From Cards to Condiments: Nintendo’s Ads in a Disney Booklet from the 1960s

Disney's first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (originally released in 1937), premiered in Japan in 1950. This release came shortly after the end of World War II, during a period when Japan was still under American occupation, and the Japanese public was eager for entertainment and exposure to international culture.

The success of Snow White in Japan paved the way for subsequent releases of the entire Disney catalogue in the country over the following decades.

In July of 1964, Disney's The Sword in the Stone was released in Japan, approximately seven months after its initial premiere in the United States.

The Japanese version of the film is titled The King's Sword (王様の剣).

The booklet shown here is a program that was likely handed out to moviegoers for free.

It measures 27.5 by 30 centimeters and has 28 pages, with eight pages printed in full color and the remaining pages in pink monochrome.

The booklet includes background information about the film, details of the production process, and information about the Disney company.

Additionally, the booklet contains numerous advertisements for Disney merchandise available in Japan, including one from a company very familiar to readers of this blog.

Ten years of Before Mario book memories

Last October (2024), I posted this image on social media, announcing that the Before Mario book was officially sold out. All stock had been depleted, and there are no plans for another print run.

Originally published a little over a decade ago, I thought this would be a good moment to reflect on the journey of the book and share some memories from that time.

How it started

I have always been a collector first and foremost, with a growing passion for vintage Nintendo items.

The Before Mario collection back in 2007

In 2011, I started this blog, thinking it would be fun to share stories and information about my collection and Nintendo’s early history. 

At the time, there was very little information available online about this period of Nintendo, and the blog quickly found an engaged and growing audience.

The first review of the blog, in Edge magazine

Over the next three years, I covered a lot of ground, publishing 180 blog posts. Then, in January 2014, I received a proposal from Nintendo historian and publisher Florent Gorges, founder of Omaké Books, to turn part of the blog into a book.

I loved the idea and quickly reached an agreement with Florent to move forward with the project.

Getting to work

Although the original plan was to reuse content from the blog, I decided to reshoot all the photography specifically for the book to ensure the best possible print quality.

Meet the Collectors - #13 - Elijah Luttmann

Today I am happy to welcome another collector in our intermittent series of Meet the Collectors!

Let's hand over the mic to Elijah!

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"Hello I’m Elijah Luttmann and I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA. I’m 19 years old and I am currently at college to learn the Chinese language."

"My earliest memories of playing Nintendo are from the early 2010s. I believed it was at my cousins’ house and we played MarioKart Wii. My cousins got me into Nintendo but it wasn’t until around 2017 when I began researching Nintendo’s history and found out how old it was. The first pre-videogame Nintendo item I got was in 2022 and it was the Ultra Machine."

"Pretty much all of my vintage collection comes from eBay but hopefully I can start using Yahoo! Auctions as they have good prices. Sometimes my computer will be full of tabs with item listings that I hope to get."

"Nintendo’s history before games is not well covered and is sometimes overlooked because of how difficult it is to find information on this era. Just hearing the stories of how certain Nintendo toys came to be is fascinating and I love talking about it with those who are interested. As a young child I would actually make my own versions of these products such as the playing cards. I would copy the images by hand."

Elijah's hand-drawn version of a Nintendo promotional item from 1915

"The Paper Model kits are one item I am fond of because I bought them from Nikita Shogov (another collector featured on this site). It's great to see collectors passing off part of  their collection to others." 

"The Color TV Game 6 means a lot to me because it was released around the same time as Shigeru Miyamoto joined Nintendo. Miyamoto is someone I admire a lot for his creativity and passion. When I see these toys I want to be able to tell the stories behind them. For example the Ultra Hand was created by Gunpei Yokoi and it was a toy he made out of scrap parts at Nintendo. Yamauchi saw the potential in Yokoi and it led to him creating some of the most innovative toys and eventually video game innovations."

Nintendo ad in 1960s Playboy magazine

When MB's Twister was first released in the 1960s, Nintendo acquired the rights to localize the game for the Japanese market.

Various box versions of Nintendo Twister

Nintendo targeted the game at families as well as groups of young adults.

As we showed in a previous post on this blog, to connect with the latter group, they sponsored editorial content and placed an ad in Men's Club magazine.

Men's Club magazine November 1967 

I recently discovered another ad that was included in the Japanese magazine Weekly Playboy (週刊プレイボーイ).

As an aside, this Playboy magazine is not affiliated with the internationally renowned publication featuring the rabbit logo (which first appeared in the Japanese market in the mid-1970s), although the content is similar. This publication simply shares the same name—likely not by coincidence.

In the August 8, 1966 edition, we find a full-page ad by Nintendo strategically placed next to that week's centerfold model (referred to, again probably not coincidentally, as a "Playmate").