“Can’t sleep tonight either…”

At Ippindo Bookstore, a store with over 110 years of history, a girl looks out the second-floor window at the back street below. Though it’s well past bedtime for her, she can’t seem to sleep.

Nights are long for the business owners of Nishiura. Even a bookstore remains open until 9 pm. Families close up shop, then step out together for a “nightcap” and a bowl of ramen; their anticipation for that time is positively childlike.

Nevertheless, it’s close to midnight. Everyone needs sleep. And yet sleep eludes the little girl.

It’s all thanks to the people gathering across the way from her house. Cars always pulled up to pick up the local cabaret club’s hostesses at a specific time. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, large groups of women approached. Their voices and footfalls echoed through the night, reaching the little girl’s bedroom.

One time a fight broke out over a poached customer. Eventually, the girl left her futon to see what was going on. She peeked out of the windowsill to find some gaudy women about to come to blows.
It’s an everyday sight for the girl, and it’s one of her nighttime joys.