I recently went to Japan to visit my family. This was my first time going to Japan because the last time I attempted to go Covid occurred and canceled my flight plans. This time around mother nature tried to stop me but we were able to make it to our destination. My brother was able to line up tickets to the Nintendo Museum for the first day and not even jet lag would prevent me from going.

Going off little to no sleep we started the day off by heading to Kyoto by car from Kobe Japan. We ate at our first little café and had amazing food, which was well prepared and stunning to look at. Though it was raining we wandered around a shrine and museum that really showcased the history of this area. Afterward we set on our journey to the Nintendo Museum.

Upon arrival the excitement started to kick in. I took a picture in front of the sign and proceeded into the security line. Once through, you had so many opportunities to take pictures before even setting foot inside. The building built in 1969 in which the museum now resides was formerly Nintendo Uji Ogura Plant which produced hanafuda cards and other toys, it became a place for repairing Nintendo consoles and toys until 2016, which then was renovated and reopened in 2024 as the current museum. Already the theme of preservation is built into the walls of this structure.

Going through the museum I was impressed by the multitude of items, inventions, and innovations housed behind glass prisons to keep them safe from our human curiosity. Familiar arcade cabinets from our past, concept art from imaginative minds and years of IP, stories that litter the upper floor of museum telling a complex tale to those who visit its space. I felt at home as my memories that were preserved in my mind played like a fine-tuned video game in my head. Preservation of the trigger objects that made up the history of this company runs in parallel with the memories that people have saved in their own memory banks. To preserve is to remember where we have been and where we might go. Japan, Nintendo, my family interactions have now been stored in my memory, and I will preserve and treasure it forever.

Have you visited a place or experienced something that makes you fondly remember the past? How does preservation of a place or item benefit us as humans? Have you been to Japan before? Tell us your thoughts on the topic below.

Image Source: Taken by Author