Now you might look at that headline and go, "But, Julian, armed with a balaclava, soft-soled shoes, and a crowbar, I can already sneak into Nintendo's offices to have a night's sleep." And, well, you'd be right, there's nothing stopping you - except for the security systems and guards - from camping out in one of the major homes of gaming. However, if you'd like to sleep there in an above-board fashion, there's soon going to be an easier way.
The old Nintendo head office in Kyoto, Japan is being converted into a hotel with 20 rooms, a restaurant, bar, gym, and spa. Which reveals that Nintendo had not been laying on the bar and spa treatment for its employees in the first place.
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According to Osumituki (translated by Japanese Nintendo), the renovations are due to be completed in the summer of 2021 and the work is being called the Kabuyama Project.
This building was a part of Nintendo for years. The company was founded in Kyoto back in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. Back then it made hanafuda cards, which translates as 'flower cards'. In those early days, the Yakuza gangs would buy the cards to use in the gambling dens. (You can watch a video about this at the bottom of the article.)
In those early days, the company was based out of a different office, but in the 1930s it took over the building you see above. It was also at that time that the company's name was changed from Yamauchi Nintendo to Nintendo Playing Card Co., which is the name that's on the plaque outside the old headquarters to this day.
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While it's clearly not the largest part of the business any more, Nintendo does still make playing cards. It even runs a Contract Bridge tournament called the Nintendo Cup.
Nintendo still has its headquarters in Kyoto, but the company is run out of a fairly nondescript office block, so it's not really a place you'd want to visit while sightseeing.
You would have thought, however, that the people converting these old offices into a hotel would be more afraid of ghosts. As if there's one thing that Nintendo's taught us through the Luigi's Mansion games, it's that Nintendo hotels are chock full of ghoulies.
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Topics: Nintendo