Scotty W
Gold Member
So I am visiting Kyoto right now, and I thought it would be fun to commodity my time here by doing a write up for fictional internet points. So here we go. There are 3 parts to this: Nintendo/Kyoto, Sonobe, and Fushimi Inari. I have not carefully researched and I will be making observations based on superficial impressions. If that displeases you, then these duck bottoms from the Heian Jingu park are for you.
The most important place in any Japanese city is the big train station. The Nintendo headquarters are about a 20 minute walk south of Kyoto station. The headquarters are two very large buildings. Think of it like this.
123
456
789
Nintendo has its two buildings on 1&2, 8&9. The area in general is basically an industrial park. It is crazy that a house like this can just nonchalantly exist next to where they made Super Mario 3. I sat on a bench in the little sports park in 4 and played through the first world of that game
DS.
Here are some photos of their neighbors. Note on the truck there are some dolphins. These are clearly the origin of the dolphins in Super Mario World.
The outsides of both buildings look identical with millions of these white bricks and surrounded by a shrubbery, which is red at the moment. It might be where the idea for the Piranha flower comes from. Overall, the property has a Wii aesthetic.
The front gate is open, but of course you can’t go in. The last thing they want is another gaijin weeb wanting to come in and talk to Miyamoto, so I just stood outside and took some photos. As you can see they have these nice rolling hills with pathways. It made me think of the ghost area at the start of Super Mario Odyssey. Also, notice that they have an athletics area- they have this at both buildings.
Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see any employees. Last time I was here I saw them leaving, including one of the famous ones. In fact, look at those 2 figures coming out of the cafe Gusto across the street. That may as well be Miyamoto and Aonuma, right?
One thing I didn’t get a photo of, since my feet were exhausted, was a little bit past 3 in my map above there is a little maker space called ‘Labo’ something. Based on what Miyamoto has said about where he lives (in the Starfox Zero promotion he says he lives near the Fushimi Inari shrine) he must go past this place every day.
Also here are some pictures of the nearby train stations. Aonuma I am sure looked carefully at these when he was making Spirit Tracks. Note the trains come equipped with cannons.
One very interesting thing, if you again recall my map above, is that in 6, there is a large scale building being built. Obviously Nintendo is making another studio in order to work on Metroid games a lot faster.
Finally, near number 9 on my map, there is a steak place where I am sure they have had a million company lunches. It is probably where they got the idea from for the food track in Mario Kart. There was also a piece of white lace on the ground which I stupidly didn’t think to photograph- even though it was probably where the idea for Peach’s dress came from. And then finally there is a 711 Lawsons and a Porche dealer across the road from the entrance.
One thing I would like to add about Kyoto is the river. There are a number of rivers, but there is one main river that splits the central area in two. The lights reflecting off the river at night are, I am sure, the source of many inspirations.
The most important place in any Japanese city is the big train station. The Nintendo headquarters are about a 20 minute walk south of Kyoto station. The headquarters are two very large buildings. Think of it like this.
123
456
789
Nintendo has its two buildings on 1&2, 8&9. The area in general is basically an industrial park. It is crazy that a house like this can just nonchalantly exist next to where they made Super Mario 3. I sat on a bench in the little sports park in 4 and played through the first world of that game
DS.
Here are some photos of their neighbors. Note on the truck there are some dolphins. These are clearly the origin of the dolphins in Super Mario World.
The outsides of both buildings look identical with millions of these white bricks and surrounded by a shrubbery, which is red at the moment. It might be where the idea for the Piranha flower comes from. Overall, the property has a Wii aesthetic.
The front gate is open, but of course you can’t go in. The last thing they want is another gaijin weeb wanting to come in and talk to Miyamoto, so I just stood outside and took some photos. As you can see they have these nice rolling hills with pathways. It made me think of the ghost area at the start of Super Mario Odyssey. Also, notice that they have an athletics area- they have this at both buildings.
Unfortunately, I arrived too late to see any employees. Last time I was here I saw them leaving, including one of the famous ones. In fact, look at those 2 figures coming out of the cafe Gusto across the street. That may as well be Miyamoto and Aonuma, right?
One thing I didn’t get a photo of, since my feet were exhausted, was a little bit past 3 in my map above there is a little maker space called ‘Labo’ something. Based on what Miyamoto has said about where he lives (in the Starfox Zero promotion he says he lives near the Fushimi Inari shrine) he must go past this place every day.
Also here are some pictures of the nearby train stations. Aonuma I am sure looked carefully at these when he was making Spirit Tracks. Note the trains come equipped with cannons.
One very interesting thing, if you again recall my map above, is that in 6, there is a large scale building being built. Obviously Nintendo is making another studio in order to work on Metroid games a lot faster.
Finally, near number 9 on my map, there is a steak place where I am sure they have had a million company lunches. It is probably where they got the idea from for the food track in Mario Kart. There was also a piece of white lace on the ground which I stupidly didn’t think to photograph- even though it was probably where the idea for Peach’s dress came from. And then finally there is a 711 Lawsons and a Porche dealer across the road from the entrance.
One thing I would like to add about Kyoto is the river. There are a number of rivers, but there is one main river that splits the central area in two. The lights reflecting off the river at night are, I am sure, the source of many inspirations.
