Culture Arts — Local services in Fukuoka

First of all, this place is a bit difficult to find. It's on a side street on the 3rd floor of what I assumed was an apartment building. But when you find it, this place bursts with personality and charm.

It's a small place run by a pleasant middle-aged man and is packed with bookshelves and glass cases of video games, game soundtracks and other paraphernalia. Best of all, there are six small arcade cabinets in this place! When I went, there was a Neo Geo machine a couple puzzlers, and some shoot-'em-ups including Raiden III, Gradius II and Truxton!

As for the games, there's quite the large selection, and plenty of systems are represented. Everything from the Famicom to the PC Engine to the Sega Saturn are here, and I even saw a few games for 1980's Japanese PC's, like the PC-FX and MSX2.

Prices were great as well. I scored plenty of great Sega Saturn games, and got complete copies of Super Mario Bros. 2 and Shin Onigashima on the Famicom Disk System, all without breaking the bank.

This place is a great alternative to Mandarake, which is a short walk away near the Nishitetsu Grand Hotel. While Culture Arts might not have the organization or sheer volume of Mandarake, these are the places retro gamers should support. I wholeheartedly recommend...

I was very impressed with this small shop. As other reviewers have noted, it is located inside of what appears to be an apartment complex and is therefore slightly difficult to find. That said, it’s 100% worth the effort if you’re into the retro video game scene.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel throughout Japan over the course of three years and have spent time in every major city. The vast majority of retro game shops are part of chains such as Super Potato, Trader, and Suragaya. This, however, is truly a small local business: the owner appears to be the only employee. He only speaks Japanese, but was incredibly helpful and seemed like an all-around good guy.

There are stacks of game software, hardware, and accessories lining the shelves. A small arcade sits off in the corner. The prices seemed about on par with other stores, so don’t expect a huge bargain or to be ripped off. I was very impressed with some of what he had in stock, especially boxed PC Engine accessories.

Overall, this is by far the best retro game store in Fukuoka and possibly my favorite of the dozens I’ve visited while...

The place is a bit tricky to find, it's in an apartment complex. The place is still under renovation. I saw in Google Maps a notification saying that the store is inside the apartment. When i got in i saw someone and he just asked me "video games? I said "yes". He took me to the entrance of the place. There was someone inside, who asked me to remove backpacks and i was able to see what was inside. The place is not organized, prices are too high for the type of material being sold here and the state of them. Mostly are in an Ok state, not even near mint condition. I bought 2 PS1 games. I asked him if i can test them, since this is not a big store where i can claim, he just started raising his voice, and said he doesn't test anything. Since i saw him so angry, i decided to leave and forget about this. I don't recommend this place, first due to the lack of quality products, high prices for the state of the items and lack of diversity. Also customer...