Nintendo heirs eye Kyoto revitalization project around HQ-turned-hotel

Late president's grandson envisions art and gathering spaces in decadeslong rebuild

May 13 (Nikkei) - Nintendo's founding Yamauchi family will redevelop the neighborhood around the company's former headquarters in Kyoto, eyeing restaurants, an art gallery and more.

The family has acquired land and buildings for renovation over an area spanning 3,000 sq. meters in the city's Shimogyo Ward. The headquarters itself has already been turned into the Marufukuro hotel, which just opened this April.

Many details of the project, which is slated to begin in 2025, remain undecided. "We want to contribute to [the area's] revitalization, in dialogue with local residents," said Banjo Yamauchi, grandson of late Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Possibilities under consideration include a space next to Marufukuro for both guests and others to mingle, and a place next to the nearby Umeyu sauna where customers can linger. A salon is also envisioned as a gathering place for artists and entrepreneurs.

No time frame has been set for any particular facilities. Banjo Yamauchi's time horizon for the project extends out to 2050.

"Like Spain's Sagrada Familia, we want to move toward completion little by little, in accordance with people's needs," he said, referring to the famed unfinished basilica in Barcelona.

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