Nintendo has exciting plans to expand its retail presence in Japan with the announcement of a new official store, Nintendo Fukuoka, set to open by the end of 2025. This will mark the company’s fourth official store in the country, joining the ranks of Nintendo Tokyo, Nintendo Osaka, and Nintendo Kyoto. Notably, Nintendo Fukuoka is unique as it will be the first store not located on Honshu, Japan's largest main island. Instead, it will be situated in Fukuoka City on the southernmost main island of Kyushu.

The announcement on X about Nintendo Fukuoka garnered a mix of reactions from the Japanese community. Many expressed congratulations and voiced hopes for additional Nintendo stores across Japan. Some suggested that Sapporo, the largest city on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, might be a logical next location for a Nintendo store.

However, the announcement also sparked disappointment among some who noted that Nintendo seemingly overlooked Nagoya. As Japan's fourth largest city and the capital of Aichi prefecture, Nagoya is a significant manufacturing hub. Despite its size, the city suffers from a reputation of being "boring," highlighted in a 2016 survey conducted by Nagoya's government. In the survey, residents ranked their cities for attractiveness to travelers, and Nagoya's residents placed their city third, behind Tokyo and Kyoto. Nagoya's location between Tokyo and Osaka also contributes to the "Nagoya Skip" phenomenon, where events and tours often bypass the city, as humorously depicted in the anime "Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki."

The "Nagoya Skip": When your city gets skipped over [Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki]
byu/myaccountforweebcrap inanime

.reddit-embed-wrapper iframe { margin-left: 0 !important; }The concern over the "Nagoya Skip" likely fueled the significant number of comments expressing disappointment about the absence of a Nintendo store in Nagoya. On a positive note, the city has recently been in the spotlight due to the upcoming opening of a new 17,000-person arena in July, which city officials and local news outlets hope will help counteract the "Nagoya Skip" trend (source: Chukyo TV).

Nintendo Fukuoka will be strategically located within a shopping mall at Hakata Station, Kyushu's largest railway hub. This location is advantageous as it's connected by bullet train to Honshu and by plane to Fukuoka Airport, making it easily accessible for residents of surrounding prefectures and inbound tourists. Since the lifting of pandemic restrictions, Fukuoka has seen an increase in tourists, particularly from South Korea, and this trend is expected to continue (source: Fukuoka Prefectural Government).

Nintendo's official stores are more than just retail spaces; they offer a range of experiences including events and hands-on previews of new games. With the upcoming Switch 2 on the horizon, Nintendo Fukuoka is poised to play a significant role in promoting and providing access to this new console.

In other Nintendo news, the company recently opened its first West Coast store in the U.S., Nintendo San Francisco. IGN had the opportunity to tour the store and interview Nintendo of America's president, Doug Bowser, to learn more about this new venture.