“My boy! The fish here is delicious.”
I was already full, but hearing the conversation, I had to take a look at the glistening piece of fish before me.
“Mom, what should we do?”
“We’re done eating, it’s time to go see a movie.”
Even though my mom calmly shut the idea down, she was also gazing at the fish with excitement.
After leaving the restaurant we head to an alley filled with small shops on either side.
“Dad, Mom, where are we going now?”
No one answered, but my mother smiled at me as she pointed to the movie theater up ahead.
As we approached the theater, we could see the sign displaying today’s showings.
“Hello, young man.”
A friendly man greets me as I open the door. Inside I saw many customers and workers-- it sure was busy.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Before I knew it my father had three tickets for the next showing. He looked like a different man as he entered the movie theater, not the quiet and strict father I knew.
“Well, someone’s in a good mood today.”
My mother giggled as she whispered to him.
What is a movie, anyway? I remember thinking to myself.
We entered the movie room, but it was so dark we couldn’t see our feet. We stumbled on the way to our seats, and all of a sudden a bright light shone from the screen. Once my eyes adjusted to the brightness I was able to see something spectacular. A whole new world was materializing right before my eyes.
Kokura has unique markets, shopping districts, and movie theaters.
Back in the early Showa era, the shopping district of Uomachi Gintengai was known as the main spot for kimono fabrics. Customers would carefully select each piece of the kimono set-- from the haneri on top, the obi in the middle, and the tabi for their feet. Sometimes this would take hours to complete, but customers would gladly spend the time to choose every single piece and buy the whole set that day. The shops never skipped on hospitality and were known to serve meals as their customers shopped.
The merchants of the area were known to adjust to the seasons, selling yarn in the winter and popsicles in the summer, too.
The people of Uomachi always look forward to the “Ebisu City Festival,” where everyone dresses up and enjoys themselves. It’s said that at one point during the war, the festival prize was a house valued today at around 200,000 USD. Uomachi Gintengai prospered as the fashion district representing Kokura.
The one disadvantage to Uomachi Gintengai, and all shopping districts back then, was the vulnerability to the weather. If it rained no one went shopping and no one attended festivals. That’s when someone thought of making the shopping district into an enclosed “arcade” street, a novel idea in Japan at the time. Uomachi would soon amaze and delight locals as the very first arcade street in Japan.
Shop owners were thrilled at the idea, knowing full well that if people stayed for festivals they would also shop around the stores. It was a win-win situation.
The opening day of the Uomachi Gintengai arcade was quite the occasion. The city ran a shuttle bus from Moji Port to Uomachi and held a grand parade, where everyone took notice at the 400-meter long arcade street, marking the first of its kind in the country.
Because of the arcade, Ebisu City Festival can be held rain or shine, as well as daily shopping. The great success of Uomachi must have been the inspiration for many arcade shopping districts that would be set up all over Japan.
Have you seen an arcade street in Japan yet? Now you can appreciate it, even more, knowing that if it wasn’t for Uomachi there might not have been any in Japan.
There wasn’t a train station in the area until a few years after the arcade was established. Now, Uomachi Gintengai is only a seven-minute walk from Kokura Station.
The shopping district of Uomachi Gintengai has a lot to offer-- from gourmet yaki udon and green tea flavored sweets to general shopping goods. But after passing through the arcade you’ll arrive at Tanga Market, where a completely different kind of atmosphere awaits you.
