Taito announced that it will hold the grand opening for the first-ever Taito Station arcade center in Hong Kong in mid-December 2023. It is working with the local company Hitek Amusement Limited to establish the franchise at Nina Mall 1 in Tsuen Wan. The facility will feature crane games containing prize items based on popular Japanese anime and game titles at launch. It will also include the rainbow coin toss game that is popular locally in Hong Kong.
Taito cited the Japan Tourism Agency’s data about visitors from Hong Kong to Japan as a background for opening a new branch in the region. Over two million people from Hong Kong visited Japan between 2017 and 2019. 88 percent of them were repeat visitors who also enjoy Japanese subcultures like anime very much.
While the new Hong Kong branch would not be Taito’s first-ever overseas facility, it will mark the company’s return to the international scene after eleven years of domestic focus. Yomiuri noted that Taito used to have subsidiaries managing arcade game centers in mainland China and South Korea. However, it withdrew in 2012 to focus entirely on its domestic market.
In the Japanese press release, Taito hopes that the new Hong Kong branch will help build Taito Station’s brand recognition outside Japan. The company, which was established in 1953, is also still in the middle of celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2023.
The Taito Station at Nina Mall 1 in Hong Kong will have its grand opening on December 15, 2023.
