Nintendo has exciting news for fans in Japan: the company is set to open a new official store, Nintendo Fukuoka, by the end of 2025. This will mark the fourth such store in Japan, following Nintendo Tokyo, Nintendo Osaka, and Nintendo Kyoto. Unlike the other stores situated on Honshu, Japan's largest island, Nintendo Fukuoka will be located in Fukuoka City on the southernmost main island of Kyushu.
The announcement of Nintendo Fukuoka's opening sparked a wave of reactions on X, with many users posting congratulatory messages and expressing hope for more Nintendo stores across Japan. Some commenters suggested that Sapporo, on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, might be the next ideal location for a Nintendo store. However, not all reactions were positive; a significant number of users were disappointed that Nintendo overlooked Nagoya. As Japan's fourth-largest city and a central manufacturing hub, Nagoya has often been bypassed by major events and attractions, a phenomenon locals refer to as the "Nagoya Skip." This sentiment was highlighted in a 2016 survey by Nagoya's government, which amusingly showed that even its own residents ranked it third behind Tokyo and Kyoto in terms of attractiveness to travelers.
Nagoya's location between Tokyo and Osaka contributes to this trend, as many tours and events skip it entirely. This issue was humorously depicted in the anime Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki. The disappointment over the lack of a Nintendo store in Nagoya is compounded by recent news of a new 17,000-person arena set to open there in July, which city officials hope will combat the "Nagoya skipping" trend (source: Chukyo TV).
Nintendo Fukuoka will be strategically placed in a shopping mall within Hakata Station, Kyushu's largest railway hub. This location is well-connected by bullet train to Honshu and by plane to Fukuoka Airport, making it easily accessible for residents of surrounding prefectures and inbound tourists. The number of visitors to Fukuoka, particularly from South Korea, has been increasing since the lifting of pandemic restrictions and is expected to continue growing (source: Fukuoka Prefectural Government).
Nintendo's official stores are not just retail outlets; they also offer events and hands-on previews of new titles. With the upcoming release of the Switch 2, Nintendo Fukuoka is poised to play a significant role in promoting and introducing the new console to more customers.
In other Nintendo news, the company recently opened its first West Coast store in the U.S., Nintendo San Francisco. IGN provided a tour of the store and an interview with Nintendo of America's president, Doug Bowser, to delve deeper into what fans can expect.
