Address: 2 Chome-9-5 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0086. Tel: 06-6211-1805. Open: 20:00-5:00. Closed: Sun. Website:https://ehonbargabu.thebase.in/ Instagram: ehonbar_gabu
Mittera Kaikan is a four-story building in Ame-Mura, built over 50 years ago, and home to around 60 bars, each with a unique theme reflecting the interests of its owner. Many of these bars are small, seating only 6 to 8 people at the counter, creating an intimate atmosphere. It’s the perfect spot if you happen to miss the last train, as most of the bars stay open until around 5 A.M. Balabushka, a darts and pool bar on the fourth floor has been a popular hang out for foreigners for years.
Ehon Bar Gabu is a bar located on the first floor that is devoted to picture books. I don’t mean graphic novels or art books aimed at adults, but children’s books such a The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Where The Wild Things Are. The tiny bar has a collection of around 1,000 books on its shelves and the complete list can be seen here. There are also toys and stuffed animals of popular characters from children’s books.
I brought my wife M. to this bar because she doesn’t drink alcohol and wanted to find a place where she could feel at home as she has always been a big fan of picture books. The bar is owned by a gentleman with an impressive haircut named Tsuyoshi Adachi, who looks like character in a children’s book. The reason he started the bar is an impressive tale in itself, one that fortunately has a happy ending.
Dreams and Reality
According to an article in the Asahi Shinbun, Adachi grew up in Sakai and dreamed of opening a bar as young man. There was just one problem: his self-employed parents had accumulated serious business debts, and when he was 20, he became responsible for repaying around ¥3 million of it himself. He and his parents turned to loan sharks simply to keep afloat, but the debt continued to snowball.
At 25, Adachi and the entire staff were arrested on fraud charges. He received a suspended sentence, but debts from company advances kept him trapped in the same door-to-door sales business, leaving him unable to change course. Adachi later described that period as feeling like he was wandering through hell, with no hope in sight.
Desperate for a way out, Adachi answered a job ad for door-to-door precious metals sales that promised earnings of more than ¥1 million a month. He suspected the business was fraudulent but took the job anyway, seeing it as his only chance to escape his growing debt. After learning the scheme at his first company, he left at 23 with several coworkers to start a competing operation. Some of the company’s higher-ups had ties to organized crime.
A Chance Encounter with a Book: The Gift of Life
One day on a sales trip to Nagasaki, Adachi found a childrens book in a business hotel called Undekureta, Arigato (The Gift of Life) by Yoh Shomei that changed his life. The book’s message is simple: every child has meaning in the parent who raised them, whoever that parent is. Everyone carries some kind of hardship along the way, and it’s often through those struggles that we notice things and grow. We support each other and get supported in turn, and that quiet exchange is part of what makes a life meaningful.
After reading the book, Adachi was able to turn his life around for good. He decided to open a bar for people who love picture books, because unlike a cafe, people sitting at a bar could discuss them more easily. Customers are encouraged to bring their favorite books to share with others. He chose the Mittera Kaikan because a longtime bar run by a master who had looked after him in his younger days operated in the same building. He waited until a tenancy became available, and when it finally did, he moved in.
Picture Book Storytelling Association
Since Ehon Bar Gabu opened in 2010, Adachi has organized events and been involved in bringing picture books to a larger audience. Adachi founded the Picture Book Storytelling Association (Ippan Shadan Hojin Ehon Yomikikase Kyokai), where he serves as Representative Director. He is actively involved in storytelling workshops, guest lectures, and public performances at schools, libraries, and festivals throughout the Kansai region. He has also organized an annual outdoor storytelling event, Aru Hareta Hiroba no Hiru ni (“On a Sunny Square’s Afternoon”), at Sankaku Park in Ame-Mura. Rather than simply reading the words on the page, Adachi developed a performance style centered on reciting picture books from memory, adjusting his tone, rhythm, and interaction with the audience in response to their reactions.
The Drunken Wolf
To mark the bar’s 10th anniversary, Adachi published his first book under his nickname “Tsuyopon” called Yopparaidore Ōkami (The Drunken Wolf) with illustrations by an artist called HUMMER. It’s described plainly as his own life story turned into a picture book. A second volume, published for the bar’s 11th anniversary, continues the same autobiographical thread. Both books are available to peruse at the bar, although I believe the first one is out of print.
Picture Book Themed Cocktails
The drink menu covers all the usual bar staples, including beer, shochu, umeshu, awamori, bourbon and whiskey, along with cocktails made to order. But the real draw is the original cocktail list, which embraces the bar’s picture-book theme. There’s a green tea cocktail named after tea master Sen no Rikyū, a yogurt-based concoction and a house mixed-juice cocktail. The standout, however, is the Drunk Caterpillar, a playful nod to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, one of the picture books on Gabu’s shelves.
I have spent countless hours in bars discussing music, films and literature, but I can state for the record that this was the very first time I had a nice conversation about some of my favorite authors from childhood such as Maurice Sendak and Arnold Lobel. I started to recall books I hadn’t thought about in years like Harry The Dirty Dog and The Small Pig. My wife also had fun picking out nostalgic books and discovering a few new ones. This is really a special bar, well worth a visit.
