Mario Day 2023: See its history and how to celebrate

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.

Music from the popular Mario games plays throughout the park and a smartphone-linked wristband allows visitors to collect virtual coins by punching blocks, just like the Italian plumber.

Augmented reality goggles attached to a plastic red visor are used in the "Mario Kart" ride, one of the park's main draws that promises to bring the racing game to life. The ride follows a track around the foreboding castle of Mario's enemy Bowser, an evil turtle, but each seat has a steering wheel and players can collect and shoot items at opponents.

The zone also boasts a ride based on the cute green dinosaur Yoshi, a Peach's castle, Mario-themed restaurants and lifesize characters from the Mushroom Kingdom.

Fans told they were thrilled about the much-anticipated opening of the park, which cost more than 60 billion yen ($550 million), according to USJ.

The platform game, in which Mario runs and jumps past obstacles to collect coins and save Princess Peach from the evil Koopa turtles, was based on the "Mario Bros" arcade game released earlier. Since then, Mario has appeared in myriad formats including games featuring racing, football and golf.