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Nintendo's original headquarters to reopen as Marufukuro hotel

The historic building that housed Nintendo's original offices in 1899 is set to reopen as a hotel in April with the backing of the Yamauchi family.

TJ Denzer

January 20, 2022 7:20 AM

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The Nintendo company has been around in some form or another for more than one hundred years - impressive to say the least - but that means the company and its operations have most certainly moved about during its existence. Now, the building where it all began in 1899 is being renovated for a reopening in April 2022 and will return as the Marufukuro hotel with the backing of the Yamauchis - Nintendo's founding family.

The Yamauchi Family Office Twitter announced its plans for renovation and reopening of the original Nintendo Office building in posts on January 19, 2022 with an official website for the Marufukuro hotel to go with it. Scheduled for a grand opening on April 1, 2022 in the heart of Kyoto, the Marufukuro hotel will transform the original office setting into a luxurious destination, said to feature a blend of “old-time stately ambience and a modern approach.” The construction is also backed by the Yamauchi family which founded Nintendo and still holds shares in the company.

(株)Plan･Do･Seeがプロデュースし、世界的建築家・安藤忠雄氏設計監修の新建築とともにホテルとして開業する運びとなりました。https://t.co/WdW80nHhFE

— Yamauchi No.10 Family Office (@n10Yamauchi) January 20, 2022

Banjo Yamauchi, heir of original Nintendo founder Fusajiro Yamauchi, previously expressed during the opening of the Yamauchi Family Office website that he desires to use his family’s wealth and prestige to engage in projects that give back to the society of Japan. The Marufukuro hotel can likely be seen as an upcoming example of this. Nintendo itself also invested deeply into preservation of its own history in 2021, announcing plans to renovate what was originally a Nintendo factory in Kyoto into a gallery and museum of the company’s lengthy history.

With the aspirations of the current leading generation of the Yamauchi family in full swing, it would appear that the Marufukuro hotel in Kyoto is set to open in April 2022, giving new life to the place where everything we know as Nintendo started.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.