The only Costco in Japan that I have visited is the one in Makuhari many years ago. Now, there are three Costco stores in Kyushu in Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, and Kumamoto. The closest one to me is still a two-hour drive, so not very convenient. A few years ago, I read a press release online about a new Costco opening in Nagasaki Prefecture not far from where I live, but for some reason that plan was nixed, and it never opened. Instead, I discovered that they opened several small shops (about the size of a large convenience store) named Minicos (ミニコス）in Kyushu that sell a select cross-section of Costco goods (mostly food). I don't know how many there are but there are at least two in Nagasaki Prefecture (???????????????MiNiCOS??????????????? : ??????? ????????????????), I shopped in one in Oita Prefecture near Beppu, there's this one in Nara Prefecture that allows online purchases: https://minicos-online.square.site/, and also in Sapporo and Chitose. While the size of our household does not support the purchase of massively large food items sold by Costco, I do appreciate being able to buy a bag (massive though it is) of organic corn chips, roasted cashew nuts, and my favorite, Kirkland organic lemonade during the summer months at reasonable prices. Of the two I've been in, it's never very crowded, so I wonder how long this experiment can survive. Has anyone else seen or shopped in these Minicos stores?