Yamamoto Shouten

Yamamoto Shoten at Ebisu is a fine example of traditional «Kaku-​uchi» in liquor store. «Kaku-​uchi» is a combined liquor store and bar in Japanese traditional style. The bar is usually provided at a corner of the shop and there you can buy beer, Sake, and Shochu at regular price and drink there with standing up and taking something like fish and chips and snack foods.
A glass of Sake is 240yen here, but in Izakaya (Japanese bar), it costs about 500 or
600yen. It is less than half price because Izakaya provides customers with a service of the best hospitality and the place to drink, but the purpose of liquor store is to sell liquor drinks at regular price. So Kaku-​uchi style was formed in liquor store.
Then, why dose this style labeled as «Kaku-​uchi»? According to the Japanese Wiki, peoples in Kita-​Kyushu used to drink with Masu (square glass) before. They drank from the corner of Masu, and they put salt on the right corner of it. From the way of this corner, this style has been called as «Kaku-​uchi».
Yamamoto Shoten has been running for about 80years at Ebisu. At here you can buy liquor at that counter by cash-​on-​delivery style and drink it right away. 60 years ago, Ebisu is used to be famous as an Ebisu beer industrial zone. Working class people who worked at nightshift used to start drinking from morning. But no stores are opened in the morning. So, liquor stores have started this «Kaku-​uchi» style. Probably, this style originated from Kita-Kyushu’s liquor store.
But recently, «Kaku-​uchi» have gained in popularity in these years with younger
Japanese drinkers, especially Japanese women because they think the atmosphere of Showa period is stylish.
Finally, at Kaku-​uchi, we can make lots of friends here. It’s so great isn’t it?
This day I was drunk, but I was getting along very well with other Unilocalers at here.
Kakuuchi is amazing!