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Tokyo train stations to host Super Mario box/character art displays to celebrate 35th anniversary

Casey Baseel Sep 30, 2020
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Nintendo’s flagship franchise reaches a milestone.

While you can debate whether Nintendo’s Mario made his video game debut in 1981’s Donkey Kong (where he’s also referred to as “Jumpman”) or 1983’s Mario Bros., there’s no debate that it was 1985’s Super Mario Bros. that made him a star. 2020 marks 35 years since the release of Super Mario Bros. for the Famicom/NES , and that’s a milestone Japan Railways (also known as JR) is saluting in Tokyo.

As part of the Super Mario Play! Tokyo! celebration, two of JR’s most important stations will be decked out with Super Mario artwork. First up is Shinjuku Station, which will be decorated with three and a half decades’ worth of Super Mario box art hanging from its ceiling.

Meanwhile, on the other side of downtown, and also on the Yamanote Line that services the city center, Tokyo Station will be the site of a “giant art wall” with illustrations and in-game art of the franchise’s huge cast of characters and creatures in the building’s Gran Roof terrace, as well as displays tracing the history of the series in its North Walkway section.

JR will also be holding a “stamp rally,” a promotion in which riders can win prizes by visiting participating stations. Traditionally, these are done by physically stamping a piece of paper, but for Super Mario Play! Tokyo! the process is going digital, with each station represented by a Super Mario game cover. Inside each station is a matching board with a QR code that you can use to register the “stamp” via your smartphone.

▼ In addition to the stations of the Yamanote Line, Nishi Ogikubo, Ogikubo, Koenji, Nakano, Itabashi, Akabane, Oji, Kameari, Kitasenju, Koiwa, Ichigaya, Iidabashi, Ochanoizu, Omori, and Kamata Stations are part of the stamp rally.

Visiting five stations and using a total of 500 yen or more with a Suica pre-paid JR card gets you a set of stickers, and visiting 15 stations nets you a rail pass/card case (while supplies last). Truly dedicated Mario/rail fans who complete the circuit of all 35 stations can also enter a drawing for a chance to win a pixel-style Mario silhouette clock or JR vouchers worth 10,000 yen (US$94).

▼ That basically means the clock is worth 10,000 yen, but that probably sounds like a fair price for exclusive merch to the true Nintendo faithful.

The Super Mario Play! Tokyo! event kicks off on October 8, with the Shinjuku box art display and stamp rally running until December 17 and Tokyo Station’s giant art wall up until November 23.

Source: JR East via IT Media
Images: JR East
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