Game Arcade on Quiet Road in Gunma Prefecture Is Straight Out of Showa Era

By Mizuki Yoshida / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

17:44 JST, April 27, 2026

TAKASAKI, Gunma — A weathered, light-blue single-story building stands on a prefectural road lined with fields and houses. During the day, the curtains are drawn and you can’t see inside. I nervously stepped into the building and found myself in a Showa-era (1926-89) amusement arcade.

What caught my eye were the white arcade machines. In the back, various vending machines lined the walls, offering hot soba noodles, ramen, toast and other foods. Each customer was lost in their own happy memories, saying such things as, “This brings back memories” and “I used to eat this often.” The arcade manager, Suzuko Notsuke, 74, gave a shy smile and said, “It’s an old arcade, so I’m a little embarrassed.”

About 40 years ago, a drive-in — the predecessor to the arcade, Game Corso Takasaki-ten — opened. It was full of arcade machines and vending machines, providing a recreational place for families. When the drive-in was closed due to the operating company’s policy, Notsuke, who was the manager of the drive-in at the time, received a number of requests from regular customers not to close it. So, she rented the building herself and began operating it as an arcade in November 1999. She spent ¥10 million purchasing new equipment. The arcade’s name “Corso” means “main street” in Italian. She gave the arcade the name because she hoped that the place would once again be bustling with people.

Various customers come to the arcade. One plays nothing but the classic video game “Tetris,” while another comes specifically for ramen from the vending machines. I saw a customer who was reading a newspaper with a can of coffee in hand without even looking at the arcade machines, and college students engrossed in card games they had brought to the arcade. Notsuke says that some customers come all the way from Hokkaido and Kanagawa Prefecture. One man, who said he drives an hour almost every day to come to the arcade, comes to mainly chat with Notsuke.

Currently, Notsuke, her husband and their son take turns working at the arcade. It is open year-round and they sometimes spend New Year’s Eve with their customers. Although they stopped operating around the clock during the COVID-19 pandemic, the arcade remains open from early morning until late at night.

Since most of the arcade machines are no longer in production, repairing them is difficult. However, they chose not to purchase the latest equipment because, as she said, “We want to value the wishes of the regulars who love this space that hasn’t changed since the Showa era.”

This arcade truly understands the importance of staying unchanged.

Game Corso Takasaki-ten

Address: 1868-135 Munadakamachi, Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture

Access: About 15-minute drive from JR Shin-Maebashi Station. About 10-minute drive from the Maebashi Interchange on the Kan-Etsu Expressway.

Hours: Open from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day, year-round.