TOHO Cinemas Tenjin

Built on the site of the Kotobukiza playhouse, which had operated since 1904, the Fukuoka Takarazuka Kaikan is a four-screen multi-ownership theater that went under the auditorium names “Takarazuka Theater” (1,302 seats), “La Scalaza” (807 seats), “Toho Cinema” (675 seats) and “Toho Meigaza” (252 seats), and opened their doors at 5-5-1 Nakasu, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, on April 20, 1957. At the time, there were 81 theaters in Fukuoka City, including 21 in the Nakasu area.

Toho took over the theater’s operations from its own independent operator on December 1, 1961. On August 1, 1986, both the Toho Cinema and Meigaza auditoriums were divided and renovated and became the Takarazuka Cinemas 1, 2, and 3, resulting in a five-screen theater. All five auditoriums were then renamed the “Fukuoka Takarazuka 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5” in 1993.

Unfortunately due to the aging of the building deteriorating of public safety, and AMC Theatres getting stronger on its first AMC theater in Japan nearby, the 1,956-seat Fukuoka Takarazuka Kaikan closed for the final time on March 14, 1997 to avoid competition, with special screenings of classic films (including “Lawrence Of Arabia”). Screen 1 last had 468 seats, Screen 2 having 79 seats, Screen 3 having 625 seats, Screen 4 having 556 seats, and Screen 5 having 228 seats. The site was later used as New Park Nakasu, a 24-hour parking lot managed and operated by Fukuzumi, a real estate company in Fukuoka Prefecture.

The next day on March 15, 1997, the Tenjin Main Building located in the Tenjin Toho Building at 2-chōme-6-27 Tenjin opened, and the location was occupied by a former commercial facility called “Area Do”, which lasted for 11 years from 1985 to 1996, with the building is located in front of the main building of Iwataya Main Store (formerly Z-SIDE). And alongside all of that is a 6-screen theater operated by Toho, which also opened that same day, featuring a capacity of 1,035 seats. It had a short closure due to renovation in May 2001. The theater was originally known as the “Tenjin Toho”, and was the first ever multiplex by the Toho chain. It was also one of a few Toho theaters that didn’t have any ownership with Virgin Cinemas. It was renamed the TOHO Cinemas Tenjin on March 1, 2008.

On January 21, 2012, the theater merged with neighboring Solaria Plaza’s Solaria Cinemas 1, 2, and 3, which closed on November 30, 2011, and became a nine-screen theater with a total capacity of 1,459 seats. Unfortunately, on September 30, 2016, it was announced that the main building would close at the end of March 2017 due to reconstruction, and did receive its final closure on March 31, 2017. The theater was demolished and was rebuilt as a business hotel, called the Richmond Hotel Fukuoka Tenjin Nishidori, which opened on the site on March 22, 2019.

Screen 1 was the largest with 290 seats, and Screen 2 was the smallest with 50 seats. The rest have ranging capacities of 61-259, and Screens 1, 6, and 7 have 3D installations. Screens 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8 have two wheelchairs, while Screens 2, 4, 6, and 9 have only one wheelchair.

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