Showa Roman-gura: Sanchome Museum
The Sanchome Museum is located in one of the three warehouses of the Showa Roman-gura and features a replica of a street during the Showa era (1926–1989). The street includes a typical family home, an elementary school classroom, and arcade games and entertainment facilities that were popular from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
Realistic sound effects recreate a sense of what it was like to walk down the town’s streets in the 1950s. Visitors can also enter a traditional Japanese family home, which includes a kitchen and a living room furnished with everyday items from that era. The elementary school classroom offers a sense of what life was like for children in those days.
Visitors to the museum can also try their hand at retro games including vintage pachinko machines (mechanical games similar to pinball) and shooting games. The atmosphere of days gone by continues with prizes for these games, which are dagashi (inexpensive toys and snacks) similar to ones popular decades ago. This photogenic space is a great place to snap a few nostalgia-tinged photos to remember the experience. Souvenirs such as local Oita products and dagashi are also available for sale.
