Nintendo has officially revealed plans to open a brand-new flagship store in Fukuoka, Japan by late 2025. This upcoming location will mark the company’s fourth official retail outlet in the country, joining the already established Nintendo Tokyo, Nintendo Osaka, and Nintendo Kyoto. Notably, Nintendo Fukuoka will be the first official store located outside of Honshu—the largest and most populous island in Japan. Instead, it will call Fukuoka City home, situated on Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island.
The announcement was met with widespread enthusiasm across Japanese social media platforms, particularly on X (formerly Twitter), where users shared congratulatory messages and expressed hopes for future Nintendo store expansions across the nation. Many fans voiced a desire to see more official stores pop up nationwide, with Sapporo—Hokkaido’s capital and Japan’s northernmost major city—frequently mentioned as a potential next destination.
However, not all reactions were purely celebratory. A significant number of commenters expressed disappointment that Nagoya had yet to be chosen as a location for an official Nintendo store. Despite being Japan’s fourth-largest city and the capital of Aichi Prefecture—a major industrial center—Nagoya is often overlooked in favor of its larger neighbors, Tokyo and Osaka. The city has long battled a reputation for being “unexciting,” a label that gained national attention back in 2016 when a local government-conducted survey asked residents to rank Japan’s top eight cities by attractiveness. While most respondents ranked their own city highest, Nagoya locals placed theirs third behind Tokyo and Kyoto.
This self-deprecating result only reinforced the so-called “Nagoya skip”—a phenomenon humorously depicted in a clip from the anime *Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki*, which highlights how many cultural events, concerts, and even retail expansions bypass Nagoya entirely despite its size and central location. Recently, however, Nagoya has been making headlines for positive developments, including the upcoming opening of a massive 17,000-seat arena set to debut in July. Local officials are optimistic that this new venue could help reverse the trend of being overlooked (source: Chukyo TV).
As for Nintendo Fukuoka, the store will be housed within a bustling shopping complex at Hakata Station—one of Kyushu’s largest and most connected railway hubs. Thanks to its bullet train access to Honshu and proximity to Fukuoka Airport, the store will offer convenient access not just to local residents, but also to travelers and tourists. With international travel continuing to rebound post-pandemic, Fukuoka has seen a steady rise in visitors, especially from South Korea, a trend expected to continue (source: Fukuoka Prefectural Government).
Nintendo’s physical stores are known not only for offering a full lineup of Switch consoles, games, accessories, and exclusive merchandise, but also for hosting special in-store events and early hands-on experiences with upcoming titles. Given the timing of its opening, Nintendo Fukuoka is likely to play a key role in promoting the anticipated release of the next-generation Switch 2 console.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Nintendo recently opened its first West Coast retail location in San Francisco. IGN visited the new Nintendo San Francisco store and spoke directly with Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser to learn more about the brand’s evolving retail strategy.
