Hotel Marukufuro: Nintendo's First Former HQ Turned into a Hotel

Previously, this building was Nintendo's first official headquarters. But in 1959, Nintendo Yamauchi vacated it to move to a place larger than this building. Since then, the building located in the Kagiyacho neighborhood, just north of the Kyoto train station, has been empty. Then, the building was taken over by the renovation company, Plan Do See, based in Tokyo. This is the first step of the process of revitalizing a historic building for gamers into a hotel building.

Plan Do See in partnership with Tadao Ando has transformed the old building that was home to a giant video game, Nintendo, into a boutique hotel. In the process, Ando renovated and expanded the old structure. He turned it into an 18-room hotel with details that still show the authenticity of the building. Of these rooms, seven of them will be suites. Other facilities available at this hotel include a restaurant, bar, spa, and gym.

Hotel Marufukuro—the new name for the Nintendo's building turned into a hotel, has the interior and exterior of the building largely unchanged. Ando retains historical elements such as the old Nintendo Yamauchi entrance plaque and patterned window grilles with details from old playing cards. In addition, the interior of the building has been preserved by incorporating many of the original 1930s details, seen in the decorative tiles and art-deco lighting fixtures.

The aesthetics of this building seem to stay eternally with Marufukuro's design that manages to unite the ancient majestic atmosphere and modern approach. This modern approach is applied by Ando through the floor-to-ceiling windows and raw concrete elements that are currently being used widely in modern buildings.

Hotel Marufukuro's official website has received bookings from guests and has released several visuals showing the layout and details of guest room furniture. With humility, this hotel will take guests back to the end of the 20th century with the sensation of living in an old building that offers views of the Kamo River and Takase River. Thus, guests can enjoy peaceful serenity, escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, and go back in time for a moment.