Best Denki’s flagship Fukuoka store in Tenjin closed its doors on 15 February ahead of a major redevelopment project. When the building first opened in 1994, employees placed a collection of contemporary keepsakes inside a cornerstone time capsule. Ahead of the closure, the capsule was retrieved and its contents put on display, sparking nostalgia among shoppers and staff alike.

The building, officially known as the ‘Best Denki Fukuoka Store and Misuzuan Joint Building’, sits opposite Fukuoka City Hall. Inside the capsule were employee uniforms, company newsletters, commemorative telephone cards from the store’s opening, and a spread of 1990s pop‑culture artefacts, including magazines, newspapers and movie pamphlets.

Among the publications were now‑defunct titles such as Shufu no Tomo, Shukan Asahi, and MORE. Newspapers from the period covered political shifts of the time, including the dissolution of Morihiro Hosokawa’s Japan New Party.

Store manager Satoshi Ishioka said the discovery stirred fond memories for long‑serving staff, while younger employees were surprised by how unfamiliar many of the items felt. Former employees and regular customers also stopped by to reminisce and share stories as the store prepared to move.

Best Denki’s new Fukuoka Main Store will reopen this spring at the Outlet Hakata location in the city’s Hakata Ward following renovation work.