"Hey, do you wanna see the true me or my alter ego?"
A gigantic building looms over the station as if to say, "Big Brother is watching you". The neon lights desperately try to escape the shadows. This underground world is called cyberpunk. We all have our own secret society where like-minded people could gather to have a drink or two. We hear glasses clinking and people chatting. From left to right, the sound echoes through the space like tiny precious jewels. The night is young, and the different sides of Hiroshima Station that you see in the night will definitely make your time worthwhile.
If you're bored with nowhere to go in the evening, try walking west of the station. There you’ll see countless crowded bars neatly lined up under a railway bridge. Ekinishi is one of the small alleyways with restaurants and bars in the neighborhood that spreads to the western side of Hiroshima Station. These days, it's become the coolest area for bar-hopping, but back in its early days, it only started with a few spotty bars. It once lost its charm after the revival of the black market era after World War II. So what made the people come back to dine and eventually grow to love the town? Mr. Sakuma, the owner of a local liquor store, "Sakuma Shuten," who's seen the town change, shared his insight on the town's history.
According to Mr. Sakuma, one bar located on the alleyway along the railways became the impetus for change. It's called "Oden Sakaya KOH," one of the few bars that opened its doors before the Ekinishi area became famous for its nightlife. "No one’s going to come here," people said, but KOH has stubbornly kept its doors open despite the neverending criticism. Night after night, they hoped that people would stop by for a drink, and their determination inspired other restaurant owners to open their own bars. Hiroshima Station itself is a hub for a swarm of passengers. It evolved into a playground for tourists and salarymen as they renovated the old tenements into restaurants that offer local cuisine.
The old-school way of having the first floor as shops and the second floor as a residential quarter is another unique characteristic of the commercial architecture in the Ekinishi area. For example, one may sit at the counter and chat with the owner on the first floor or sit around the table and enjoy a conversation with friends on the second floor. By switching floors, one can have a completely different experience. And this is just one example of the many bars filling the alleyway, operating in a similar style. If you wanna drink, go to Ekinishi. This is a shared understanding among the people of Hiroshima. We celebrated the end of our interviews at the bar at the beginning of November. A few days later, we heard the news of a fire breaking out in one of the bars in Ekinishi. Due to the large number of wooden houses lining up in close proximity, fires aren't unusual there. And every single time a fire breaks out, passionate fans of Ekinishi help restore the area. We hope this time is not an exception. Lights streaming out of the bar windows attract the nocturnals. That will never change.
