The historical site of Nintendo’s former headquarters in Kyoto has been renovated into the Marufukuro hotel and is available for bookings starting this Friday.
“The hotel’s three buildings combine their original personality with a breath of fresh air, featuring 18 expressive rooms, including seven suites,” reads the hotel’s official site. The site also highlights the “classic, refined charm of the Nintendo headquarters building and the Tadao Ando-designed annex, with its natural light pouring into open spaces.”
The building originally held the offices for the Marufuku Nintendo Card Co. founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889. Nintendo started as the “first western playing cards” manufacturing company in Japan. These playing cards, also known as hanafuda, are a card game with floral designs representing the different seasons.
The new hotel’s aesthetics were inspired by certain elements of hanafuda as well as the old headquarters, mixing history with modern amenities. Among its three connected buildings is also the former Yamauchi family home.
The hotel also offers breakfast, lunch and dinner options, with 24/7 snacks available for guests. The restaurant’s culinary director Chef Ai Hosokawa is known for combining Japanese and Italian flavors.
Rooms start at $822 a night for standard options and go up to $1,800, with seven suites available to choose from.
