Last weekend, I popped down to Kyoto to see some friends who are visiting Japan from overseas. After spending Saturday afternoon at Nishiki Market, we split up so I could check into my hotel before meeting up again for the evening illumination at Tō-ji (one of my favorite seasonal light-ups in Kyoto).
I decided to take the underground passage to the metro, but didn’t expect to see this on the walls along the way:
Both sides of the underground hall were covered in floor-to ceiling murals that made the tunnel feel like walking through a Super Mario game. I’m not sure which game (or new version) they’re advertising–I’m sadly out of date when it comes to Nintendo releases–but it was really cool to see.
The mural went on for about six blocks, from Hankyu Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station almost all the way to Hankyu Karasuma Station.
Speakers at intervals along the wall played music and sound effects from Super Mario levels shown on the murals, which was really cool. It wasn’t very loud, and you could only hear it when you were close to a speaker — I passed under three of them before realizing where the sound was coming from.
If I hadn’t decided to walk underground to the station (to avoid the rain), I wouldn’t have ever realized it was there. I don’t know how long it’s going to stay, but if you’re in Kyoto (or anywhere in Japan), it’s worth remembering that sometimes, there are magical worlds waiting to be discovered, just out of sight!