logo
EarthBound shop and art exhibition open in Tokyo for fans of Nintendo's quirkily charming classic

EarthBound shop and art exhibition open in Tokyo for fans of Nintendo's quirkily charming classic

SoraNews244 days ago
Oh mama! The Mother Shop is now open.
Upon its opening in 2019, the sixth floor of the Parco department store in Tokyo's Shibuya neighborhood quickly established itself as a must-visit destination for video game fans, since from Day 1 it had dedicated Nintendo, Capcom, and Pokémon stores. This month, though, Shibuya Parco has made an addition for gamers with more particularly refined tastes, as it now has an EarthBound shop too.
OK, so technically it's called the Mother Shop, using the Japanese-market title for the franchise which was renamed EarthBound for its overseas releases. But just like a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, the characters and creatures from Mother / EarthBound are as quirkily unforgettable regardless of what appears on the title screen.
▼ The Mother Shop (right photo) on its grand opening last Friday
#MOTHERのかたち 開幕です!発売当時、攻略本などに載っていたキャラクターの粘土フィギュアが、 #ほぼ日曜日 にずらりとならびます。6階では #MOTHERのおみせ もオープン!ぜひどちらもたのしんでくださいね。この夏、渋谷パルコでおまちしています!(きこ)
※本日の入場予約は定員に達しています pic.twitter.com/wiyHSUhN3Z
— ほぼ日曜日 / 渋谷PARCO8階 (@hobo_nichiyobi) July 25, 2025
Among the items on offer are acrylic character/monster keychains, with a whopping 31 different designs!
For online shoppers, the only way to get these is to order the entire bundle, at an intimidating price of 23,970 yen (US$165), through the Mother online store. The new Shibuya physical shop, though, also lets you make individual blind-buy purchases for a much more manageable 770 yen a pop.
▼ The bases can be removed for easier looping of keys or use as decorative bag straps…
▼ …or left attached for use as standees.
Other cool new items include T-shirts of the cast and the game's iconic 'SMAAAASH!!' critical hit indicator…
…and even an ice cube, or ice character, tray.
But probably the most appealing of all are the figures of EarthBound's core cast, Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo, and Mr. Saturn.
If these renditions of the characters look especially familiar, that's because they were produced by 3-D scanning the clay figures used for photographs in the game's instruction manual/player's guide.
The PVC figures range in height from 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) for Mr. Saturn to 11.2 centimeters for Poo. They're only being offered as a set of all five for 19,800 yen, with a limited quantity to be produced to order, and delivery slated for early October.
▼ There's pixel art on the box tops too!
The Mother Store isn't being billed as a popup shop, as it'll be around for longer than the scant few days that term often implies, but it's not a permanent addition to Shibuya Parco. It'll be open until September 8, as its residency is running alongside that of a paid Mother art exhibit on the building's 8th floor, The Shape of Mother, where the original clay versions of the core cast figures will be among the displays. Thankfully, the items shown above can also be ordered online here, but the Mother Shop looks to be a great place for fans to gather while they've got the chance…
#MOTHERのかたち オープンです。
みんながうろ覚えで描いた「ゲップー」たち。みなさん、よく特徴を捉えられていてすごいです! 「うろ覚えで描いてみよう大会」は、お題がかわっていくので、何度きてもおたのしみいただけますよ〜。本日も、お待ちしております。(さく) pic.twitter.com/hE9uzrJb5Q
— ほぼ日曜日 / 渋谷PARCO8階 (@hobo_nichiyobi) July 29, 2025
…especially with its art wall which visitors are invited to contribute to by trying to draw the series' characters from memory.
Related: Shibuya Parco official website
Source: PR Times, Hobonichi
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Hobonichi (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), PR Times
● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Participants Showcase Japanese Calligraphy Skills at Event in Japan; Event Organizer Hopes to Pass Japanese Calligraphy on to Future Generations
Participants Showcase Japanese Calligraphy Skills at Event in Japan; Event Organizer Hopes to Pass Japanese Calligraphy on to Future Generations

Yomiuri Shimbun

time3 hours ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Participants Showcase Japanese Calligraphy Skills at Event in Japan; Event Organizer Hopes to Pass Japanese Calligraphy on to Future Generations

KANAZAWA — About 390 people took part in a calligraphy event in which calligraphers displayed their skills in the traditional Japanese art, in Kanazawa. The event was organized by the Japan Shodo Culture Association, an entity engaged in promoting Japanese calligraphy, in an effort to pass the art on to future generations. Serving as instructors were Token Nishimura and Hisako Shida, both of whom are members of The Yomiuri Shohokai, an organization of calligraphers; and Daiun Tsujimoto, a member of the association. The event was held at Ishikawa Ongakudo's Hougaku Hall on July 12. The three calligraphers displayed their skills, writing messages wishing for the recovery of the Noto Peninsula following the major earthquake and torrential rain that hit the area. They also produced works based on themes from haiku and waka poems as well as Chinese books, which mention cherry blossoms. 'Today, we don't have as many opportunities to write [by hand] due to the internet,' said a 30-year-old man, who holds calligraphy classes in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture. 'But I think it's necessary to convey the attractiveness of writing.'

Edging Toward Japan: The Japanese soul of John Lennon
Edging Toward Japan: The Japanese soul of John Lennon

The Mainichi

time11 hours ago

  • The Mainichi

Edging Toward Japan: The Japanese soul of John Lennon

I was watching recently the 1988 documentary film "Imagine: John Lennon" about the short, memorable life (1940-80) of the famous rock musician. The former Beatle has legions of fans across the world, though I never particularly counted myself as one of them. But of late I have become quite intrigued by aspects of John Lennon which do not really seem to feature in public consciousness. I am greatly fascinated by the mountain resort of Karuizawa -- Tokyo's cool retreat from the oppressive summer heat and teeming with secluded, wooded residences. It's a place I try to get to whenever I can. John Lennon is said to have visited Karuizawa during the last three summers of his life and stayed each time at the historic Mampei Hotel, deeply nestled in the forests there. John Lennox's connection with Karuizawa seems to be relatively little known -- it is not mentioned at all in the "Imagine" film and when I asked quite a knowledgeable Japanese friend about it, he said he had never heard about it. I discovered an article in a local Karuizawa magazine, which noted that Lennon liked to visit the Shiraito Waterfall and the Usui Pass Lookout point in Karuizawa, and that he is reputed to have taught the recipe for "Royal Milk Tea" to the head waiter at the Mampei Hotel. Lennon appeared to enjoy the simple life in Karuizawa, eating apple pie in the hotel cafe and wandering over to the French bakery on the main street to buy baguettes. This was all at a period of Lennon's life when he was prioritizing spending time with his infant son Sean (born in 1975) with his Japanese wife Yoko Ono. I was curious to know more about the Japanese life of John Lennon. When on a recent trip from my home in Kansai, I was excited to see from Google Maps that a hotel (the Metropole Hotel, Omiya) I was staying at outside Tokyo just happened to be immediately next to the John Lennon Museum. But when I got to the hotel, I discovered to my disappointment that the museum had in fact closed down in 2010. Apparently, Yoko Ono had cooperated in the opening of the museum in 2000 to commemorate Lennon's 60th anniversary and had lent many papers and artefacts relating to the musician, but the museum had existed for a mere 10 years. What everyone seems to know about John Lennon in his final years is that he lived in New York (where he was assassinated in December 1980) and that he often spoke of his love of that city. In the "Imagine" film, Yoko Ono shrewdly observed that Lennon saw in New York a larger, more cosmopolitan version of his home city of Liverpool. Both port cities drew in influences from around the world and had the comforting familiarity of the docks. In other words, the seeds of Lennon's final positioning in New York were sown in his Liverpool upbringing. That may be true, but I also think that the seeds of his final positioning in a hotel in the woods of Karuizawa, Japan, were also buried far deeper than we might think. There is a general tendency to assume that Lennon's connection with Japan was the almost accidental product of his having fallen in love with Yoko Ono. But I perceive it differently. If you find yourself living with a Japanese woman in New York and spending your summers in Japan, then it is reasonable to assume that there is something about Japan which is calling out to you. When Lennon became regularly sequestered in the mountains of Japan, I don't see that as an accidental occurrence, but the consequence of some inner yearning. It's curious that when chronicling and analyzing the lives of artists, biographers often ignore the parts of their psyche with which they have little familiarity or understanding. The great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, for example, was utterly obsessed during the last years of his life with the 1906 novel "Kusamakura" ("The Three Cornered World") by Japanese novelist Natsume Soseki and kept the book alongside the Bible by his bedside. He once read the entire novel on consecutive evenings over the phone to his cousin, and broadcast a chapter from it on his radio show. Yet if you read a biography of Glenn Gould, you are unlikely to see this mentioned at all or else quickly dismissed as a piece of "eastern mysticism". Similarly, for me, while New York represents the public face of John Lennon in his final years, the more hidden, private space was occupied by Japan and Karuizawa. I sometimes walk the streets of Liverpool and stand outside the Cavern Club where the Beatles first found fame, and walk down to the statue of the Fab Four on the dockside. John Lennon will always belong in some form or other to Liverpool. But in ways that are not yet fully understood, I feel the ultimate destination of Lennon's soul-searching life story were the quiet forests of Karuizawa, Japan. How those Karuizawa woods might have impacted his music in the 1980s had he lived a little longer is a subject that is fascinating to imagine. @DamianFlanagan (This is Part 67 of a series) In this column, Damian Flanagan, a researcher in Japanese literature, ponders about Japanese culture as he travels back and forth between Japan and Britain. Profile: Damian Flanagan is an author and critic born in Britain in 1969. He studied in Tokyo and Kyoto between 1989 and 1990 while a student at Cambridge University. He was engaged in research activities at Kobe University from 1993 through 1999. After taking the master's and doctoral courses in Japanese literature, he earned a Ph.D. in 2000. He is now based in both Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and Manchester. He is the author of "Natsume Soseki: Superstar of World Literature" (Sekai Bungaku no superstar Natsume Soseki).

Sega's UFO Catcher remains arcade mainstay after 40 years
Sega's UFO Catcher remains arcade mainstay after 40 years

Asahi Shimbun

time13 hours ago

  • Asahi Shimbun

Sega's UFO Catcher remains arcade mainstay after 40 years

'Just one more try.' Whether let loose in a state of furious determination or grunted in dull resignation, this sentiment is part of what makes crane games so alluring even 40 years after the Japanese version's debut. Often called the UFO Catcher domestically, these machines and the temptations they hold within are currently among the top earners at the country's game centers. And, unlike the grip settings on many, the various iterations of UFO Catchers have yet to release their hold on the public even during the eras of home video game consoles and mobile games rising in popularity. EAGLES? NO, ALIENS Game developer Sega Corp. first pitched the UFO Catcher to the market in 1985. Today, the company's trademarked claw machine is virtually synonymous with the term, but spacecraft were not initially part of the equation during the development process. Sega's short-lived goal was the Eagle Catcher—a concept involving a mechanical bird that arcade-goers could control to ensnare prizes like eagles swooping down on prey from on high. The enormous difficulty of incorporating the bird into the crane game's design would eventually lead the company to reconsider, and it finally settled on a configuration and name that mimicked an alien abduction. Around this time, conventional claw machines introduced in the 1960s were about the height of a table and typically featured a top-down design with a rectangular, box-shaped body about the height of a table. Players looked down into the boxy machines through their glass-covered tops when controlling the crane. Sega's introduction of its UFO Catcher not only meant a change in player vantage point, but that the bounty of prizes were suddenly all at eye level. CRANK UP THE LIGHTS Buoyed by the huge success of 'Space Invaders' following its 1978 release, arcades became ubiquitous across Japan in the 1980s. The focus on video game titles such as 'Pac-Man' and 'Donkey Kong' meant game centers of the time needed to be dimly lit to better see the arcade cabinet screens. Most customers were male. The introduction of the UFO Catcher dramatically altered the country's arcades. The machine's vivid lighting to showcase prizes inside combined with its pink tones literally brightened up the atmosphere in game centers. The result was exactly what Sega expected from its UFO Catcher; its aim at the time was to expand the enterprise's consumer base by appealing to not only men but also women and children. Mitsuharu Fukazawa, who has devoted himself to the development of UFO Catchers at Sega over the course of more than two decades, explained the appeal of the claw machine that unearthed an entirely new trove of patrons. 'The fundamental style of play has remained unchanged throughout the UFO Catcher's 40-year evolution: moving the crane to get a prize,' said Fukazawa. 'This simplicity is likely among the reasons the game has long been embraced by people of all genders and ages.' Another simple addition that would boost the UFO Catcher even more came in 1991 with the fourth-generation model emanating background music from Sega's now-classic 'Sonic the Hedgehog' video game that came out that same year. This model set off a further craze when toys of characters from the celebrated children's anime series 'Let's Go! Anpanman,' first aired in 1988, were added as prizes. Other corporations' successive introductions of their own crane games would contribute to the further expansion of the market as well. Plush dolls of the protagonists from multi-generation-defining anime, inclusive of 'Dragon Ball' and 'Sailor Moon,' were consistently appearing in claw machines, and prize types eventually extended to figurines of characters along with other novelties—something that transformed a fad into a long-lasting boom at arcades. ANALOG ENDORPHINS Also behind the 'evolution' of prizes were repeated increases in the maximum prize value in the guidelines set by the industry organization. According to the accounts of the Japan Amusement Industry Association, the prize price ceiling was raised from 200 yen ($1.30) for 1986 to 500 yen in 1990, and then to 800 yen in 1997. The upper limit of 1,000 yen was subsequently imposed in 2022 under the interpretive and operational standards for the amusement business control law. With the advent of Nintendo Co.'s Family Computer (Famicom) console, known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), video games gradually transitioned to a form of entertainment largely enjoyed at home instead of arcades. Figures from the Japan Amusement Industry Association show that the number of game centers halved between fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2022. At odds with the overall slump was the turnover from claw machines that jumped 1.9 times during the same period. By category, crane game sales accounted for as much as 59 percent of the total in fiscal 2022. Hideo Nakamura, representative director of the Japan Crane Game Association who runs a dedicated claw machine arcade on his own, believes the tactile nature of these machines remains their strong point. 'The analog entertainment tool provides players with a one-of-a-kind joy and excitement that can't be replicated in the digital world, as the crane game has remained unchanged since the past,' said Nakamura. Bottos Benoit, a French social informatics researcher studying claw machines, agreed. 'The game's uncertain design and playing experience derives from human commitment, bringing on a unique attraction never found elsewhere,' he said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store