A Japanese Video Game Arcade, Hidden in the Back of a Swedish Pool Hall

Hey STHLM. CoolCrab (Atlas Obscura User)

Stockholm is a good city for gamers, as there’s a video game museum and regular exhibitions at the technical museum. But what many don’t know is that there’s a fantastic Japanese arcade hidden within a pool hall.

Hey STHLM is a collection of roughly 20 arcade machines and about 10 flipper machines, making it among the largest of such collections in northern Europe. The arcade is also unusual because it has an incredible collection of games rarely seen outside Japan. The sounds, lighting, and games really make you feel like you’ve been transported into an arcade in Japan.

Most of the Japanese games haven’t even been translated yet, and just show the Japanese text. Still, these games are somehow intuitive enough to figure out and have fun with. Some of the titles include Taiko no Tatsujin, Dance Dance Revolution, and a Mario Kart Racer complete with chairs and pedals.

Know Before You Go

The arcade is inside a pool hall, but once you are in you'll know it's the right place. The arcade works on a token basis, generally 10 SEK for 1 token, with some discounts if you buy many tokens. The tokens are only exchangeable for cash so make sure you bring some! Due to Swedish gaming laws, the arcade is 18+.