Long-Awaited "Super Mario" Theme Park Opens In Japan

The attraction, whose bright, block-like surroundings are straight out of the classic "Super Mario" games, is part of the existing Universal Studios Japan amusement park in the western city of Osaka.

Here we go! After months of pandemic delays, Nintendo's first ever theme park, featuring a "Mario Kart" ride in a real-life Bowser's Castle, opened in Japan on Thursday to delighted fans. The attraction, whose bright, block-like surroundings are straight out of the classic "Super Mario" games, is part of the existing Universal Studios Japan amusement park in the western city of Osaka. "We perfectly recreated the world of the game.... You'll find life-sized piranha plants and Bowser, and you'll see what it is like to be Mario," said Ayumu Yamamoto, USJ's marketing communication manager. "It took almost a year longer than we had expected to open this place, and we are really glad," he told reporters at a preview on Wednesday.