Take a peek inside 84, a favorite bar of Nintendo's top devs
A cornucopia of Nintendo history!
Recently whynow Gaming got the chance to get a look inside 84 (pronounced “hachi”), a members only club somewhere in Shibuya ran by former Nintendo employees.
The bar operated in secret for many years as it’s owner Toru ‘Chokan’ Hashimoto only wanted to serve his close friends within the gaming industry. Due to Covid-19 and it’s aftermath on the world’s economy Hashimoto decided to open up a special paid tour open to tourists to help keep the business running.
Why the name 84? Well it actually has a number of meanings, 1984 was the year Hashimoto joined Nintendo in the QA department. The pronunciation “hachi” sounds like Hashimoto’s name as well as the Japanese word for chopsticks. It also serves as a reference to 8-4 the final level of the original Super Mario Bros. It also is similar to the Japanese word for bridge, Hashimoto feels this is fitting as the recent opening of the tour is essentially creating a bridge to meet more people.
The biggest reason a Nintendo fan would want to book a tour for this bar is the incredible amount of gaming memorabilia left behind by not just titans of Nintendo but the entire Japanese gaming industry.
Listed below are just some of the photos Alan Wen of whynow Gaming captured on their recent visit to the secret bar.
If you’re planning a trip to Japan soon and this has piqued your interest you can book a tour on their website here. The price is 9,999 yen ( about $67 or £55) but as part of it you will receive a passport so you can get back into the bar as a member whenever you find yourself back in Shibuya.
If you want to read more anecdotes from Alan wen’s experience at 84 as well learn more about Hashimoto himself we highly suggest reading the full article by whynow gaming linked below!
About jmaldonado
A recently graduated creative writer hoping to work his way into the greater gaming sphere.
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