Nintendo's first store in Japan opens this Friday, and it looks like a Nintendo-lover's paradise - here's what it's like inside

Kevin WebbNov 20, 2019, 01:03 IST

Nintendo

Nintendo just opened a brand-new flagship store, Nintendo Tokyo, in its home country of Japan.
Nintendo Tokyo is located on the sixth floor of Shibuya Parco, a new department store in Tokyo's Shibuya district.
A new Pokémon-themed store called Pokémon Center Shibuya will open on the same floor as Nintendo Tokyo, allowing customers to walk through and shop in both stores.
Nintendo Tokyo features exclusive merchandise and Nintendo Switch consoles so customers can demo Nintendo's latest releases.
Nintendo has a similar flagship store, Nintendo NY, in New York City's Rockefeller Center.
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Nintendo Tokyo will celebrate its grand opening on November 22, giving the Japanese gaming giant its first flagship store in its home country.

Nintendo Tokyo is located on the sixth floor of Shibuya Parco, a newly opened department store in Tokyo's Shibuya District. In addition to selling Nintendo video games and consoles, Nintendo Tokyo has tons of exclusive merchandise featuring iconic Nintendo characters, as well as stations where customers can try out the latest Nintendo games.

Nintendo already operates a similar store, Nintendo NY, in New York City's Rockefeller Center.

Members of the press were invited to tour the store during an event on November 19, ahead of the grand opening on Friday. The Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki shared a walking tour of Nintendo Tokyo on Twitter in two videos.

A new Pokémon-themed store, Pokémon Center Shibuya, is located next to Nintendo Tokyo. While Nintendo also owns the Pokémon franchise, Nintendo Tokyo and Pokémon Center Shibuya will operate as separate stores - the Pokémon Center retail chain is managed by a subsidiary called The Pokémon Company. There are already multiple Pokémon Center stores in Japan.

While Nintendo created The Pokémon Company to make the most of licensing opportunities, the company has been much more conservative with its other video game properties. Nintendo Tokyo is the latest in a series of gradual steps to expand the company's pop-culture influence beyond the world of gaming. In early 2018 Nintendo announced that a Super Mario movie was in the early stages of development, and in 2020, Universal Studios Japan plans to open a Super Nintendo World attraction that reportedly cost $544 million.

Here's a closer look at Nintendo Tokyo ahead of its grand opening on November 22:

See Nintendo's first store in Japan opens this Friday, and it looks like a Nintendo-lover's paradise - here's what it's like inside >>

Nintendo Tokyo was opened for a press event on November 19 ahead of its grand opening on November 22.

Nintendo launched a bunch of new licensed products to prepare for the opening of Nintendo Tokyo.

The store is filled with exclusive merchandise and art dedicated to iconic Nintendo characters, like Super Mario ...

... while Nintendo's biggest franchises have dedicated displays, like this "Legend of Zelda" stand with a statue of Link, the series' protagonist.

Even "Splatoon," Nintendo's newest video game series, has a statute at Nintendo Tokyo.

Nintendo Tokyo and Pokémon Center Shibuya are technically separate stores, though they are neighbors. The highlight of the Pokémon store is this life-sized Mewtwo statute inside of an incubation chamber.

Pokémon Center Shibuya has a different interior design than Nintendo Tokyo. Items like the graffiti-style Pikachu plush on display will only be available in the store.

This "Animal Crossing" tea set is a perfect example of how the Nintendo brand has expanded way beyond video games.

At Nintendo Tokyo, every version of the Switch — the company's newest console — is on display. Customers can also use demo stations to try new Switch games.

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