Autumn 2025. We – Sam and Danny, Michel and Wille, and Timothy – are travelling to Japan for a quite classic tour of the Land of the Rising Sun. We are flying separately as we used miles. On the planning: Tokyo, Kanazawa, Shirakawa, Osaka, and Expo 2025, Hiroshima, Himeji, Miyajima, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakone, and back to Tokyo. Three weeks plus some extra days.

The Nintendo Museum (ニンテンドーミュージアム) in Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, not to far from the city, was highly anticipated. Not only is getting in not that easy, Oscar also hyped me up. 

Nintendo’s story begins in 1889, when Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company under the name Yamauchi Nintendo in Kyoto. Its original business was the manufacture of hanafuda playing cards, a Japanese‐style card game that offered an alternative to Western playing cards, which were then restricted in parts of Japan. 

In the decades that followed, the company remained modest in size but gradually expanded. In 1929, Sekiryo Kaneda, who later adopted the Yamauchi name, assumed the presidency and in 1933 renamed the company Yamauchi Nintendo & Co. In the post-war period, Nintendo was once again transformed: in 1949, Fusajiro’s grandson, Hiroshi Yamauchi, became president and steered the company toward diversification beyond playing cards. By 1953, Nintendo had become the first Japanese company to produce playing cards made from plastic, strengthening its presence in the domestic market.

By the early 1960s, Japan’s playing-card industry had reached its limits. Nintendo experimented with a range of ventures, including instant rice, vacuum cleaners and taxi services, though most of these attempts proved unsuccessful. 

The turning point came in 1965 when the company hired Gunpei Yokoi, initially as a maintenance engineer, who soon began developing innovative electronic toys. In 1966, Yokoi created the Ultra Hand, an extending toy that became one of Nintendo’s first major toy successes. This led to other products such as the Ultra Machine, a baseball-throwing toy, and the Love Tester, further cementing Nintendo’s shift from traditional games to toys and entertainment.

The 1970s marked Nintendo’s first serious steps into electronic gaming. In 1972 it released the Ele-Conga, one of the earliest programmable drum machines, and in 1973 began distributing the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan. By 1975 Nintendo launched its first arcade game, EVR Race, and in 1977 released the Color TV-Game home console line in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric. These early ventures laid the foundations for its later dominance in electronic entertainment.

A major breakthrough arrived in 1981 with the release of the arcade hit Donkey Kong, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. This game became an international success and introduced Mario, initially called ‘Jumpman‘, as Nintendo’s mascot. 

Around the same period, Yokoi’s Game & Watch handheld series, launched in 1980, sold over 43 million units worldwide and established Nintendo as a key innovator in portable entertainment.

The mid-1980s became the company’s defining era. Following the 1983 North American video-game crash, Nintendo revitalised the market with the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States. The NES was marketed as an ‘Entertainment System’ to distance it from the troubled image of earlier consoles. Games such as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda revived the home-console industry and turned Nintendo into a global brand.

In 1989 Nintendo released the Game Boy, another Yokoi creation, along with Tetris, achieving worldwide acclaim and selling more than 100 million units. The Super Famicom (Super Nintendo in the West) followed in 1990, delivering advanced hardware and a stronger catalogue of games. 

In the mid-1990s Nintendo faced growing competition from Sega and the new entrant Sony. The 1995 Virtual Boy, a stereoscopic 3D tabletop console, was a commercial failure, but the 1996 Nintendo 64 re-established the company’s reputation for innovation through its 3D gameplay and Super Mario 64.

The early 2000s brought the Game Boy Advance and the GameCube. Although the handheld performed well, the GameCube struggled against rivals. 

After Hiroshi Yamauchi’s retirement in 2002, Satoru Iwata became president and steered Nintendo into a new era. Under his leadership came the Nintendo DS in 2004, featuring dual screens and touchscreen controls, and the Wii in 2006, which introduced motion-controlled gameplay and reached vast new audiences beyond traditional gamers. 

Later systems included the Nintendo 3DS in 2011 and the Wii U in 2012, the latter commercially disappointing. Following Iwata’s death in 2015, Nintendo regrouped and launched the Nintendo Switch in 2017—a hybrid console usable both at home and on the move—which became a worldwide success and reaffirmed Nintendo’s influence in modern entertainment.

Nintendo Museum

The Nintendo Museum in Uji celebrates this legacy. Owned and operated by Nintendo itself, the museum showcases an extensive range of products from the company’s long and varied history. 

It officially opened to the public on 2 October 2024. Plans for the museum were first revealed in 2021, and it occupies the site of the former Ogura Plant, where Nintendo once produced trading cards and repaired toys and consoles. The building features a newly designed gallery presenting the many products Nintendo has launched across more than a century, exploring its creative philosophy and design evolution. Construction was completed in May 2024, and the opening date was announced later that summer.

The museum’s main exhibition covers the entire second floor and includes numerous interactive installations. 

Visitors can try out classic Nintendo toys such as the Ultra Hand, Ultra Machine, Love Tester, Game & Watch and NES Zapper, or play vintage games on home consoles up to the Nintendo 64. Some exhibits use giant two-player controllers for cooperative challenges. For an additional fee, guests can participate in a workshop to design their own hanafuda cards or learn how to play traditional games with them, paying tribute to Nintendo’s origins.

Lottery-based

Admission to the museum is controlled through a lottery-based ticketing system. To apply, visitors must hold a free Nintendo Account and choose a preferred date and timeslot. Applications open roughly three months in advance, and successful applicants receive an email confirmation and a payment deadline. 

Once paid, tickets are issued electronically as QR codes from 2 PM on the day before the visit. On arrival, guests present their QR code and a matching identity document—foreign visitors must show their passport—at the security gate. There are no on-site ticket sales, and entry is permitted only for the reserved timeslot.

Stricter than an airport

The museum’s check-in process is efficient but strict: identity must match the booking name, and late arrivals may not be admitted. After scanning their tickets, visitors proceed through a lobby area to the exhibition floor, where staff guide them through the experience. The museum is fully accessible, with lifts and wheelchair-friendly facilities.

Hatena Burger Café

Dining is available at the on-site café, Hatena Burger Café, a playful burger restaurant themed around Nintendo’s culture of experimentation. The café offers customisable burgers—said to allow hundreds of thousands of possible combinations—and seats about 130 people. 

It operates from 10 AM to 7 PM (last orders around 6:15 PM) and does not require reservations, though queues at lunchtime can be long. The museum itself has no parking facilities, reflecting its emphasis on public transport access: the nearest stations are Ogura Station on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line (a three-minute walk) and JR Ogura Station on the Nara Line (around eight minutes on foot).

A visit

The lottery system, which is popular in Japan, the booking hassle, the time slot respect and the many checks before you finally get in, are honestly a bit over the top. There is also an instructional video you need to watch.

The first part of the museum is… the museum, with a history and overview of Nintendo’s product. You’re not allowed to take photos there are young attendants everywhere making sure you don’t. It’s a bit obsessive. Perhaps to keep the flow going and to avoid people blocking views. 

The layout is a bit confusing, there’s not clear timeline. But it’s very nostalgic and pleasing. 

Downstairs, there’s the play area. You receive ten coins on your card you can use to play some games. The most popular ones are expensive, costing three or two  coins. But sampling a classic game such as the original Kirby only costs a point. 

Quite a few of the games are designed to play with two players, so it’s super solo traveller friendly.

The shop has a few cute items such as large cushions in the shape of controls. But otherwise, we weren’t that inspired. For the real cute toys and plushies, you need to go to Nintento Stores. 

So?

Yes, the Nintendo Museum is worth a visit. I think we spend some two hours there. You can’t take photos in the museum proper, while other areas encourage you to take photos. 

2025 Journey Across Japan

1. Japan’s Superconducting Maglev train breaks world speed record at 603 km/h.
2. Japan’s maglev bullet train delayed to 2035 or later as costs rise to ¥11 trillion.
3. QUESTION | Should you be stressed about travelling to Japan, and fear of missing out?.
4. Brussels Airport to Milan Malpensa with Brussels Airlines, operated by Air Baltic, ft. the 2025 check-in and boarding software hack.
5. REVIEW | Sala Montale Exclusive Lounge and Sala Gae Aulentin Premium Lounge at Milan Malpensa Airport, extra Schengen.
6. REVIEW | All Nippon Airways (ANA), Business Class, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to Tokyo.
7. REVIEW | Toei Animation Museum in Nerima, Tokyo.
8. JAPAN | Tokyo Station, its Character Street and Pokémon Store.
9. REVIEW | Onyado Nono Asakusa Hotel in Tokyo.
10. TOKYO | Asakusa ft. Sensō-ji Temple.
11. JAPAN | The Odoriko train from Tokyo to Ito on Izu Peninsula.
12. PHOTOS & REVIEW | The Izu Teddy Bear Museum in Izu-Kōgen.
13. JAPAN | A visit to Ito on Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture.
14. REVIEW | Japan’s Saphir Odoriko in Premium Green Car from Ito on Izu Peninsula to Tokyo Station.
15. GAY TOKYO | 24 Kaikan in Asakusa (+ Ueno and Shinjuku).
16. TOKYO | Sawara in Chiba Prefecture, ‘Little Edo’ beyond Narita.
17. TOKYO | Omotesandō in Shibuya – AEON Shinonome –  Uniqlo – Muji.
18. PHOTOS | The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei Park.
19. JAPAN | Solo in Tokyo.
20. REVIEW | Brussels Airport The View lounge.
21. REVIEW | Qatar Airways Business Class Brussels to Doha.
22. REVIEW | Qatar Airways Al Mourjan The Garden Business lounge.
23. REVIEW | Qatar Airways Q-Suite Business Class Doha to Tokyo.
24. REVIEW | Pullman Tokyo Tamachi.
25. REVIEW | The Railway Museum, Ōmiya, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture.
26. TOKYO | Imperial Palace East Gardens – Akihabara – Tamiya flagship store – Skytree.
27. JAPAN | Kanazawa Castle – Kenrokuen Garden – Higashi Chaya District.
28. REVIEW | Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kanazawa Eki Nishiguchi.
29. JAPAN | Road trip to Hida no Sato, Takayama and Shirakawa-go from Kanazawa.
30. OSAKA | Namba Parks – Dōtonbori – Glico Man – Shinsaibashi.
31. REVIEW | Swissôtel Nankai Osaka.
32. Experiencing Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai Japan.
33. KANSAI | Osaka Castle ft. Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum.
34. OSAKA | EGDE store – Umeda Sky Building – Grand Front – Namba Parks – Daiso – Luscious.
35. REVIEW | Mazda Museum in Hiroshima.
36. REVIEW | Candeo Hotels Hiroshima Hatchobori.
37. JAPAN | The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the Peace Memorial Park and the Peace Memorial Museum.
38. JAPAN | Himeji Castle.
39. JAPAN | Itsukushima Shrine on Itsukushima aka Miyajima.
40. REVIEW | Miyajima Seaside Hotel.
41. REVIEW | Spending a night in a couples’ or love hotel: ホテルCOO玖 男塾ホテルグループ in Okayama.
42. KYOTO | Nishi Hongan-ji Temple.
43. KYOTO | Nijō Castle.
44. KYOTO | Kamo River – Takase River – Pontochō.
45. REVIEW | Mercure Kyoto Station.
46. REVIEW | Kyoto Railway Museum.
47. JAPAN | Kyoto Station.