Dakashiyanoyume Museum

The Dakashiyanoyume Museum, also known as the Candy Shop Dream Museum, stands at the heart of Bungotakada City in Oita Prefecture on Kyushu island. The museum forms part of Showa Roman Gura, a renovated rice warehouse built in 1935 that now serves as a three-section museum complex dedicated to Japan's Showa era. A revitalization project begun in 2001 transformed the declining shopping district by preserving over 70% of buildings from the 1950s, creating an authentic retro experience that was officially established as a tourist destination in 2002.

The museum houses an extraordinary collection documenting Japan's mid-Showa period, specifically the prosperous years from 1955 to 1965. The Dagashiya Dream Museum displays about 60,000 toys from the director's collection of over 300,000 candy shop toys, alongside old painted movie posters, vintage dagashi (penny candies), and period memorabilia. The displays recreate the atmosphere of traditional Japanese candy shops where children purchased affordable treats with their allowance. The collection includes immense assemblages of toys, models, and painted movie posters spread across multiple floors.

Visitors experience multiple dimensions of Showa-era life through the museum complex. The Showa Yumemachi 3-chome Building recreates lifestyle experiences through tatami mat rooms, tapestries, posters, video games, and board games popular during the period. The museum features an indoor arcade with miniature recreated stores, a Showa-era classroom, and a replica house with synchronized lighting cycling through a regular Showa-era day. The facility also incorporates a modern TeamLab digital art installation where visitors can color paper figures that come to life on screens.

Transportation to the museum requires reaching Bungotakada City first. The site can be reached by bus via Usa Station on the Nippo Honsen Line, or by taxi from Usa Station in approximately 10 minutes. From Oita Airport, the journey takes about one hour by bus. The museum is located within the free-to-access Showa no Machi shopping district, though the Candy Shop Dream Museum, Showa Yumemachi 3-chome Building, and TeamLab Gallery require admission. On weekends and holidays, visitors can enjoy free tours aboard a 1957 Isuzu bonnet bus that travels through the district.