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> Once you get inside the building, it is a little like you’ve described. But on the outside, it’s very simple and clean, just a simple square building. Some pe

> Once you get inside the building, it is a little like you’ve described. But on the outside, it’s very simple and clean, just a simple square building. Some people have even likened the reception area to a hospital waiting room. It’s kind of serene. I can attest! Just like a hospital. You can also see a glimpse of it from the nearby train station. A quiet unsuspecting almost industrial part of Kyoto; away from the more touristy areas. Perhaps for a reason; unlike many parts of Japan it isn't necessarily a convenient walk-to - so better maybe to have a taxi drop you off nearby. And then when you arrive up close; a sublte Nintendo logo adourns the gated entrance - where the boring square shaped building presents itself. Also one day, many months later - walking casually in Osaka in an area not too far from the busy Umeda / JR Station. I saw an interesting looking blue and white sign atop a commercial building amongst mostly residential apartments... I asked my friend at the time what the Kanji meant. To my surprise, "Nintendo" she said. It was neat moment because at the time I was living in the area and had been for fair while - and all that while did not realize my childhood idol Nintendo was right there in the neighbourhood too. I just assumed they always display their romaji logo / classic font name but apparently not for this office, which was quite large as I recall; among the tallest 'medium sized' towers in a rather dense area.

Danieru 6y ago
Oh I can do one better: I've been inside. Nintendo's lobby is nothing like a hospital. It looks like a North Korean palace. Sparse with only 2-3 plants. Every wall is marble. At the reception desk are 3 receptionists. The lobby is giant, consuming about 1/2 of the building's footprint. Maybe only 7 sets of low sitting executive style chairs. Absolutly zero Nintendo authored art or decor. Off the lobby to the left are meeting rooms. These meeting rooms are your usual corporate japan meeting rooms minus any large glass windows. Nintendo is a young japan by Japanese standards combined with being from outside of the two major metro areas they have a chip on their shoulder. They are proud and want to be respected like a proper 500 year old japanese mega corp. Compare this to the other game company's waiting rooms I've been in. Marvelous was the most "look at what we've made" with tons of products and brand merchandise lining the walls. Square Enix is more reserved, with maybe 10 figures from their brands in a glass case inset into the wall. Sony (near shinagawa) is yet more reserved, no brands, but examples of their hardware, again along the wall. Large logo behind the receptionist desk. Wargaming.net had large props reused from their promotional events, plus the fanciest and branded offices of anyone. My experience is from the new-nintendo building. The prior Nintendo building, which itself is not the original wooden building you might remember from black and white photos, is a few blocks away. The old building is only QA now from my understanding. The new building is larger with the most premium of japanese features: large open gardens between the building and compound walls.
- donw 6y ago
  One of my coworkers used to work for Nintendo here in Japan, and told us about his first day. Apparently, in the building you visited, there is a massive Nintendo museum -- everything they've ever made, all carefully curated. You get to visit this museum once, and only once: on your first day with the company. From that point forward, you are not allowed to go again. They do this because Nintendo believes that, while it is vital to understand your roots, to know where you came from, it is equally important to not become mired in the past and rest upon old glories, and instead to look forward to the future.
  - Danieru 6y ago
    Oh now that is super interesting. I've heard of Bandai's library, where they have copies of every game they've made plus consoles staff can borrow. Which is the exact opposite of Nintendo's theory.
  - lupire 6y ago
    Strange yet common to have such a weird pseudo religious gimmick to indoctrinate new employees with a symbol that doesn't serve the purpose it purports to. It's like Amazon's door desks, a symbol of frugality that costs more than a regular desk because they insist on custom building imitation doors instead of regular (and ergonomic) desks.
    - 1123581321 6y ago
      Why doesn't the one-time museum visit serve the purpose? Are Nintendo employees disbelieving that the company is serious about that balance between legacy and future? How much do the Amazon custom doors cost?
- drschwabe 6y ago
  Neat! Thanks for sharing those experiences. To clarify, the North Korean palace you refer to - which is the new building; is the boring blue and gray square shaped hospital looking one (the one I describe with the official sign out front of the gated entrance) ? Fascinating to hear about it from the inside. I was excited to see the building and lay foot on the sidewalk of the compound but not the type to ask for a tour; I didn't want to be an annoying がいじん. Settled for a selfie and pictures of the outside; Kyoto on its own is has no end of photogenic opportunities so it was one of many.
glandium 6y ago
For the curious, the kanjis for Nintendo are 任天堂.
- drschwabe 6y ago
  Indeed! As I wrote the comment above, I pulled up my old photo of outside Nintendo's Kyoto office that day and noticed/realized that sure enough they actually display that Kanji you shared on a blue/white flat atop a tall flagpole directly next to the detached ground-level classic "Nintendo" logo sign. Cross referecing with the building referred to later in Osaka then of course, it is the same blue and white colors with that Kanji. Didn't connect the dots at the time! Just happened to casually bring it up as a curious sight to my friend while walking about on a summer day.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
  Is that just ateji or the semantic meaning intended?
  - lioeters 6y ago
    The company was named 任天堂骨牌 (Nintendō Karuta) when it was founded in 1898 to sell a traditional Japanese card game called Hanafuda (meaning "flower cards"). The company name is certainly intended to have semantic meaning, as each character of 任天堂 combines sensibly and logically. The last character 堂 suggests a kind of sacred space, "a hall, temple, or shrine". The second chatacter 天 means "heaven"; and the first character 任 implies trusting, or leaving things up to, this "heaven". > The name Nintendo is commonly assumed to mean 'leave luck to heaven', but the assumption lacks historical validation; it can alternatively be translated as "the temple of free hanafuda". (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#1889%E2%80%931969:_Early_history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#1889%E2%80%931969:_Ea...) Overall the name gives a religious or spiritual impression, which feels at odds with the purpose of the company to sell games. I believe this is also intentional, related to the history of these playing cards in Japan as part of illegal gambling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda#History --- This historical photo of the original store is wonderful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#/media/File:Nintendo_1889.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#/media/File:Nintendo_...
saagarjha 6y ago
While known fo Apple Park, many of Apple's offices are pretty much like this–especially smaller ones they have acquired and are using for some less-public division. They are frequently bland, almost entirely unmarked. The lobby is empty save for an iPad that lets you tell people why you're there. If you know what to look for they can stick out, but most people don't and they pass by unnoticed.

Danieru 6y ago

Oh I can do one better: I've been inside. Nintendo's lobby is nothing like a hospital. It looks like a North Korean palace. Sparse with only 2-3 plants. Every wall is marble. At the reception desk are 3 receptionists. The lobby is giant, consuming about 1/2 of the building's footprint. Maybe only 7 sets of low sitting executive style chairs. Absolutly zero Nintendo authored art or decor. Off the lobby to the left are meeting rooms. These meeting rooms are your usual corporate japan meeting rooms minus any large glass windows. Nintendo is a young japan by Japanese standards combined with being from outside of the two major metro areas they have a chip on their shoulder. They are proud and want to be respected like a proper 500 year old japanese mega corp. Compare this to the other game company's waiting rooms I've been in. Marvelous was the most "look at what we've made" with tons of products and brand merchandise lining the walls. Square Enix is more reserved, with maybe 10 figures from their brands in a glass case inset into the wall. Sony (near shinagawa) is yet more reserved, no brands, but examples of their hardware, again along the wall. Large logo behind the receptionist desk. Wargaming.net had large props reused from their promotional events, plus the fanciest and branded offices of anyone. My experience is from the new-nintendo building. The prior Nintendo building, which itself is not the original wooden building you might remember from black and white photos, is a few blocks away. The old building is only QA now from my understanding. The new building is larger with the most premium of japanese features: large open gardens between the building and compound walls.

donw 6y ago
One of my coworkers used to work for Nintendo here in Japan, and told us about his first day. Apparently, in the building you visited, there is a massive Nintendo museum -- everything they've ever made, all carefully curated. You get to visit this museum once, and only once: on your first day with the company. From that point forward, you are not allowed to go again. They do this because Nintendo believes that, while it is vital to understand your roots, to know where you came from, it is equally important to not become mired in the past and rest upon old glories, and instead to look forward to the future.
- Danieru 6y ago
  Oh now that is super interesting. I've heard of Bandai's library, where they have copies of every game they've made plus consoles staff can borrow. Which is the exact opposite of Nintendo's theory.
- lupire 6y ago
  Strange yet common to have such a weird pseudo religious gimmick to indoctrinate new employees with a symbol that doesn't serve the purpose it purports to. It's like Amazon's door desks, a symbol of frugality that costs more than a regular desk because they insist on custom building imitation doors instead of regular (and ergonomic) desks.
  - 1123581321 6y ago
    Why doesn't the one-time museum visit serve the purpose? Are Nintendo employees disbelieving that the company is serious about that balance between legacy and future? How much do the Amazon custom doors cost?
drschwabe 6y ago
Neat! Thanks for sharing those experiences. To clarify, the North Korean palace you refer to - which is the new building; is the boring blue and gray square shaped hospital looking one (the one I describe with the official sign out front of the gated entrance) ? Fascinating to hear about it from the inside. I was excited to see the building and lay foot on the sidewalk of the compound but not the type to ask for a tour; I didn't want to be an annoying がいじん. Settled for a selfie and pictures of the outside; Kyoto on its own is has no end of photogenic opportunities so it was one of many.

glandium 6y ago

For the curious, the kanjis for Nintendo are 任天堂.

drschwabe 6y ago
Indeed! As I wrote the comment above, I pulled up my old photo of outside Nintendo's Kyoto office that day and noticed/realized that sure enough they actually display that Kanji you shared on a blue/white flat atop a tall flagpole directly next to the detached ground-level classic "Nintendo" logo sign. Cross referecing with the building referred to later in Osaka then of course, it is the same blue and white colors with that Kanji. Didn't connect the dots at the time! Just happened to casually bring it up as a curious sight to my friend while walking about on a summer day.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
Is that just ateji or the semantic meaning intended?
- lioeters 6y ago
  The company was named 任天堂骨牌 (Nintendō Karuta) when it was founded in 1898 to sell a traditional Japanese card game called Hanafuda (meaning "flower cards"). The company name is certainly intended to have semantic meaning, as each character of 任天堂 combines sensibly and logically. The last character 堂 suggests a kind of sacred space, "a hall, temple, or shrine". The second chatacter 天 means "heaven"; and the first character 任 implies trusting, or leaving things up to, this "heaven". > The name Nintendo is commonly assumed to mean 'leave luck to heaven', but the assumption lacks historical validation; it can alternatively be translated as "the temple of free hanafuda". (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#1889%E2%80%931969:_Early_history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#1889%E2%80%931969:_Ea...) Overall the name gives a religious or spiritual impression, which feels at odds with the purpose of the company to sell games. I believe this is also intentional, related to the history of these playing cards in Japan as part of illegal gambling. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda#History --- This historical photo of the original store is wonderful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#/media/File:Nintendo_1889.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo#/media/File:Nintendo_...

saagarjha 6y ago

While known fo Apple Park, many of Apple's offices are pretty much like this–especially smaller ones they have acquired and are using for some less-public division. They are frequently bland, almost entirely unmarked. The lobby is empty save for an iPad that lets you tell people why you're there. If you know what to look for they can stick out, but most people don't and they pass by unnoticed.