Secret Nintendo Café For Employees Opens To Public For First Time—Peer Inside
Image via Antoine Ramus / Shutterstock.com
Nestled quietly somewhere in Shibuya, Tokyo, this exclusive café has only operated for Nintendo employees and other high-profile game developers since its opening in 2015. However, now, 84 is open to bookings from the public after a pandemic closure.
The café derives the name 84, or hashi, from the year that its founder and owner Toru Hashimoto joined Nintendo. Originally opened as a space for game developers and fellow employees to relax and discuss industry happenings, the place is decked out in rare and otherwise unattainable merchandise and artwork straight from the creators of Nintendo’s high-profile game titles, like Pokémon, Kirby, and Mario.
Its regulars used to include Nintendo employees, who were often friends of Hashimoto’s, and names like Yuji Horii from Dragon Quest, and Shigeki Morimoto from The Pokémon Company. Now that it’s much less exclusive than before, though, big names may not make as frequent an appearance. However, Bloomberg reports that Morimoto has expressed an interest in hosting spoken word shows at the café, hoping to inspire the next generation of game developers.
Although it’s now open to the public, the location is still largely a mystery. Visits to the café are strictly reservation-only. And, in order to find the exact address, fans will have to solve a puzzle, likening the experience to a game in itself.
“I will tell you the address upon confirmation, though I ask you to keep it to yourself so that others can have the fun of finding the location,” Hashimoto said. “But moving to a new location is an option, and when I do, I may do so without telling anyone — so that people can play a fresh game of finding 84.”
Have a look inside the secretive café through this video by Bloomberg Quicktake.
[via IGN and Bloomberg Quicktake, cover image via Antoine Ramus / Shutterstock.com]
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