On April 3, 2024, news broke that the holding company of Sugai Dinos, a long-standing operator of amusement facilities in Hokkaido, had filed for bankruptcy with liabilities of approximately 1.8 billion yen. Sugai Dinos once operated a wide range of venues including arcades, bowling alleys, and movie theaters, playing a pivotal role in the development of Hokkaido's amusement industry.

The bowling alley at Dinos Norbesa

Sugai Dinos traces its roots back to a traditional playhouse opened in 1917. In 1954, Sugai Kogyo Co., Ltd. was founded, primarily focusing on the movie theater business. From the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, the company dedicated itself to expanding its amusement business mainly within Hokkaido, opening movie theaters and managing bowling alleys. A particularly notable achievement was the 1968 opening of the Sapporo Sugai Building (later the Dinos Sapporo Chuo Building), built on the site of the former Sapporo Theater. As a large-scale, multi-purpose leisure complex equipped with a movie theater, bowling alley, sauna, billiard hall, and table tennis area, it garnered significant attention at the time.

The retro game corner at Dinos Sapporo Chuo

In 1978, adapting to the changing times, the company converted a tenant space within the Sapporo Sugai Building into an arcade, venturing into the game center business. This was a strategic move that responded to the decline of the bowling boom and the rise of the video game industry.

Interior of Dinos Cinemas Sapporo Gekijo

In the 1990s, Sugai Dinos took a groundbreaking step forward in its movie theater business. In 1995, it renovated the cinema in the Sapporo Sugai Building to open Sugai Cinemaplex Sapporo Gekijo (later Dinos Cinemas Sapporo Gekijo), Hokkaido's first full-fledged multiplex with seven screens. This strategy, aimed at meeting the diversifying needs of movie fans, proved to be a major success. Sugai Dinos continued to expand its cinema business, opening Cinemaplex Muroran Gekijo in 1999, Sugai Dinos Asahikawa in 2003, and Sugai Dinos Tomakomai in 2005.

The closing of Dinos Sapporo Chuo

In the 2000s, Sugai Dinos sought to diversify its business. In 2000, it entered into a capital and business alliance with GEO Corporation, venturing into the rental and recycling business. It became a consolidated subsidiary of GEO Corporation in 2005 and began developing cafe and fitness businesses in 2009.

Farewell messages at the closing of Dinos Cinemas Sapporo Gekijo

However, its diversified ventures, including the core amusement business in Hokkaido, began to struggle. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a further blow. In 2018, the company sold the Dinos Sapporo Chuo Building, a symbol of Sugai Dinos, drawing many fans who lamented its closure. Then, in May 2022, Sugai Dinos initiated civil rehabilitation proceedings.

Image from the official Sugai Dinos X account

Nevertheless, the cultural flame ignited by Sugai Dinos continues to burn. The legacy of Dinos Cinemas Sapporo Gekijo lives on in Satsugeki, a cinema that continues to screen films in Tanukikoji 5-chome (Satsugeki was the long-standing nickname for Dinos Cinemas Sapporo Gekijo). Furthermore, the amusement and bowling businesses were transferred to GENDA GiGO Entertainment Inc., which operates about 190 arcades nationwide under the GiGO brand. The Dinos signs are gradually being replaced by GiGO signs.

The history of Sugai Dinos, which led the industry for over 100 years, is, in many ways, the history of Hokkaido's amusement industry itself.

Check these out too!