Original Nintendo Building

Nintendo existed as a company long before its international fame came along with the NES video game console. Its roots actually began in dealing in trading cards around the late 19th century.

While the company was not called Nintendo originally, the business grew rapidly until it became the largest card company in Japan, mostly in hanafuda playing cards. Not long after, the company constructed its first proper building which was completed in 1933. At the time it was called Marufuku Co. Ltd, which is where the hotel got its name. The company, which was known as Nintendo by now, outgrew the building in 1959 and relocated further south.

Two memorial plaques were later attached to the wall, one in Japanese and one in English reminding visitors of the building’s history. Currently, the Nintendo headquarters are south of Kyoto station.