A little bit, I thought.

A short walk from Fuse Station, in a back alley where neon lights are sparse, the store stood alone.

The red lanterns floated in the darkness of the night.
Passing through the noren, one is immediately confronted with a counter. The seats are few and close together. The owner, Mr. Takataro, is amidst the sounds of regulars’ laughter and the clattering of beer mugs.

He appears to be brusque, but in fact he is extremely friendly. He is just a little silent, quietly watching his customers.
Is he alone?　Then, would you like to try the thick fried bean curd first?

The thick fried bean curd is a bit amazing.

This restaurant’s deep-fried tofu is a little different.
Tofu is deep-fried to order. The batter is crispy, but when you bite into it, the inside is soft and creamy. On top of that, there is a dash of the restaurant’s special dashi (Japanese soup stock) and soy sauce.

A beer is poured down your throat, and a lingering taste lingers in your mouth. With just one dish, both your stomach and your mind will easily become accustomed to the restaurant.

The sign says “Chotto imbibe,” but this one dish is enough to make you fall in love with the place.

Horumon yakiudon and mapo tofu.

If you want to eat well, try the Horumon Yaki Udon.
The udon is filled with a large amount of horumon (hormone), and the udon is sticky with a sweet and spicy sauce. The dish is served on a griddle with steam rising in the air, and you can listen to the conversation of the person next to you as background music.

And then, for some reason, there is the mapo doufu (bean-curd soup seasoned with red pepper).
It is a bit unexpected, but there are regulars who come here for this dish. It is tangy and spicy, with a taste that lingers in the mouth. It is a taste that awakens the lining of one’s stomach.

All of the dishes are “food” that will make you eat.
A little is not the end of the story.

This is a “festival” called “Kotaro-san.

The owner, Kotaro-san, was born and raised in Fuse.
He is a hardcore “festival man” who also participates in the Ashidai Jiguruma management committee for the Fuse Danjiri Parade.

A photo displayed in the store shows him pulling a danjiri in a happi coat.
His love and pride for his hometown is the source of the store’s passion.

This is the place where Fuse stories come together.”

The owner of a local sushi restaurant and the mother of a neighborhood snack bar also find themselves sitting in front of Kotaro. They are all blabbing to each other about what’s going on, and laughing at each other.

It is more like a “small intersection” than a bar.

Kotaro’s charm is not only in his food.
He connects customers with each other with his exquisite timing.

He gently mixes in the conversation of the person sitting next to him, while cracking black jokes.
I hear he has some naughty old stories, but I’ll leave that for another time, when I hear them from him.

It is not uncommon for two people who have just met each other to get so excited that they go out for a second time.
This restaurant is not just a tavern, but a small scramble intersection where people cross paths with each other.

You can also start the second house with a senbero set.

If you are wondering if you want to go to the second house,try
the Senbero Set, which includes two draft beers or highballs and two small plates of food.

For 1,000 yen, a night in Fuse becomes much more intense.
I’m not talking about a bargain. It’s just a nice way to get a taste of the “humanity of Fuse”.

Things that don’t change, towns that change.

Chochinomi” was born out of a movement to open the shutters of the Fuse shopping district once again.

Even though times have changed, there are still people like Mr. Kotaro who think of their hometown, andpeople who are attracted to
that feeling and gather there.
Even today, the night in Fuse is a little noisy somewhere.

Someone’s saga, someone’s weakness, someone’s life advice.
Stories are being born over the small counter today.

I was only going to stay for a while, but before I knew it, I found myself staying for a long time.
Laughing, eating, listening to someone’s life story.

That is the charm of Chochonomi.
The red chochin lanterns of human kindness that light up late at night in Fuse, Osaka.

I want to come back again.
Walking down the street at night with a slightly drunken gait is surely not a bad idea.