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Traveling alone can be wonderful.

You can go wherever you want, eat what you like, and spend the day at your own pace.

But nighttime can feel a little different.

After sightseeing or finishing work, you return to your hotel.

Maybe it is still too early to sleep.

You might think,

“I’d like to have one more drink.”

Or perhaps,

“I wish I had someone to talk to tonight.”

If you are spending a night alone in Kirishima, there is another way to enjoy your evening.

You can visit a small Japanese snack bar.

And you can come alone.

At Chiduru, coming alone does not mean you have to spend the evening alone.

What is a Japanese snack bar?

If you are visiting Japan from another country, the words “snack bar” may be confusing.

A Japanese snack bar is not simply a place to buy snacks.

It is a small nighttime establishment where people can have drinks, talk with the staff, and often enjoy karaoke.

Every snack bar is different.

Some are lively.

Some are filled with regular customers.

Some are places where people enjoy singing late into the night.

Chiduru is a little different.

We are a small and relatively quiet snack bar in Kokubu, Kirishima City, Kagoshima.

Conversation is an important part of our evenings.

You can have a drink, eat some of Mama’s home-style cooking, talk with us, and if you feel like singing later, there is karaoke too.

You do not have to sing.

You do not have to entertain anyone.

You can simply spend the evening with us.

A bar and Chiduru offer different kinds of evenings

Going to a bar alone can be a wonderful way to spend an evening.

You can sit quietly at the counter and enjoy a good drink.

Sometimes that is exactly what we want.

But there are other nights too.

You may be traveling alone and have spent most of the day by yourself.

You may have eaten dinner alone.

And after dinner, you may think,

“I don’t really want to go back to my hotel yet.”

At a bar, the drink itself may be an important part of the experience.

At Chiduru, conversation is an important part of the evening.

If you come alone and would like to talk, you do not have to sit quietly by yourself all night.

That is one of the things we value.

You may come alone, but you don’t have to spend the evening alone

We have customers who visit Chiduru by themselves.

They may talk about work.

They may talk about their families.

They may tell us where they traveled from.

Sometimes we talk about serious things.

Sometimes we laugh about things that really do not matter at all.

And sometimes, after talking for a while, someone says,

“Shall we sing a song?”

Then the karaoke begins.

After the song, we may start talking again.

There is no schedule for the evening.

There is no correct way to spend your time here.

You may arrive alone.

But while you are here, you do not have to find ways to pass the time by yourself.

There is something important we should tell you: we do not speak English

We want to be very clear about this before you visit us.

We do not speak English.

We cannot promise that we will understand what you say in English, and we cannot have a fluent conversation with you in English.

If you only speak English and we only speak Japanese, there will probably be moments when neither of us understands the other.

But we do have our hands.

We have facial expressions.

We can point at things.

We can use translation apps on our phones.

And sometimes we can simply laugh together because neither of us has any idea what the other person is trying to say.

We think that can be fun too.

Perfect communication is convenient.

But imperfect communication can sometimes become a wonderful memory.

A gesture.

A smile.

A word of Japanese.

A word of English.

A smartphone passed across the counter with a translated sentence on the screen.

Then another gesture.

Then everyone laughs.

It may take a little longer to understand each other.

That is okay.

We do not need to understand every word to enjoy spending some time together.

Sometimes analog communication is part of the fun

Today, almost anything can be translated instantly with a smartphone.

That is very useful, especially for us because we cannot speak English.

But we also like the little moments that happen before the translation is complete.

“What is this?”

“Delicious?”

“Where are you from?”

Trying to understand a place name.

Trying to explain a Japanese dish.

Pointing at something.

Making a gesture.

Getting it completely wrong.

And laughing.

People have communicated this way for a very long time.

You do not have to speak perfect Japanese.

We certainly cannot speak perfect English.

So perhaps we can meet somewhere in the middle.

Not English.

Not Japanese.

Just two people trying to understand each other.

There is something warm about that.

Mama’s cooking is part of the evening

Chiduru is not a fine-dining restaurant.

Mama prepares simple Japanese home-style food.

It is the kind of food we enjoy serving with drinks and conversation.

Sometimes eating something made in a small local place can tell you more about Japan than eating another meal in a large restaurant.

It may not be famous.

It may not appear in a travel guide.

It is simply something Mama prepared that evening.

You can eat, have a drink, and talk.

Then perhaps another drink.

Perhaps a song.

And then more conversation.

That is often how time passes at Chiduru.

You don’t have to sing karaoke

Many visitors associate Japanese snack bars with karaoke.

Yes, Chiduru has karaoke.

But singing is not required.

We once had a customer come in saying,

“I came here to sing tonight!”

He started talking with Mama.

They kept talking.

And talking.

Eventually, the evening was over.

He had not sung a single song.

That happens.

Other nights, after everyone has talked for a while, someone will say,

“Shall we sing something?”

And that is when the karaoke starts.

We care less about how many songs you sing and more about whether you enjoyed your evening.

A small local night can become part of your journey

Kirishima has many wonderful places to visit.

There are mountains, hot springs, shrines, food, and beautiful scenery.

Those are important parts of traveling.

But sometimes the memory that stays with us is something much smaller.

Sitting in a little bar.

Eating something homemade.

Trying to explain something to a person who does not speak your language.

Laughing because the translation on the phone sounds strange.

Listening to a Japanese song you have never heard before.

Maybe trying to sing one yourself.

These moments are not famous tourist attractions.

But they can become part of your memory of Japan.

We do not want to pretend that Chiduru is an international bar.

It isn’t.

We are a small Japanese snack bar in Kokubu.

And perhaps that is exactly why an evening here may feel a little different.

Coming to a Japanese snack bar alone can feel a little intimidating

We understand that opening the door of a small local bar in another country can take courage.

You may wonder,

“Will everyone stare at me?”

“Do I need to speak Japanese?”

“Are only regular customers welcome?”

“Do I have to sing karaoke?”

“What am I supposed to do?”

You do not need to do anything special.

Come in.

Sit down.

Have something to drink.

If you are hungry, enjoy some food.

We will probably try to talk to you.

You may not understand us.

We may not understand you.

We will figure something out.

That can be the beginning of the evening.

For solo travelers spending a night in Kirishima

Maybe you came to Kagoshima from another country.

Maybe you are staying in Kirishima for sightseeing or business.

Maybe you have already eaten dinner and are wondering what to do with the rest of your evening.

Or perhaps you simply do not want to sit alone in your hotel room yet.

There are many ways to spend the night.

You can visit an izakaya.

You can enjoy a quiet drink at a bar.

Or you can try a small Japanese snack bar.

Some nightlife can be lively and energetic.

Chiduru is different.

We are a relatively quiet place where conversation can be part of the evening.

At Chiduru, you can come by yourself.

Have something to eat.

Enjoy a drink.

Try to talk with us, even if our languages are different.

If conversation slows down, perhaps we will sing a song.

Then we may start talking again.

You came to Kirishima alone.

But your evening does not have to feel lonely.

If you would like to know what Chiduru is really like

We have been writing about Chiduru since 2016.

Not only about busy and happy nights.

We have also written about quiet nights, ordinary days, difficult times, and the small things that have happened here over the years.

If you are wondering,

“Is it really okay for me to visit this place alone?”

please take a look at our timeline.

A menu can tell you what a place serves.

A price list can tell you what things cost.

But neither can completely tell you what kind of people are waiting behind the door.

That is why we have kept our story.

And if one evening you find yourself alone in Kokubu, Kirishima, thinking,

“I’m not ready to go back to my hotel yet,”

you are welcome to spend a little of your night with us.