Anyone who knows Japan is aware of a particular type of drinking establishment called a snack. They are found all over the country, in both large cities and small towns. Typically, they consist of a counter with a few stools, perhaps a booth or two, and are usually presided over by a middle-aged woman—the mama—or, less often, by a man, the master. The customers tend to be regulars. Unlike a regular bar where a first-time customer simply walks in and sits down, the etiquette in a snack requires a newcomer to first ask the mama for permission to enter. The entertainment, if it can be called that, apart from a simple drink menu, consists of conversation with the mama, chatting with other customers, and karaoke. At the time of writing, these establishments are considered the least fashionable places in the country to have a drink.
Some years ago, while traveling in Japan, Greg Girard noticed that every town seemed to have a snack named “Sakura.” Sakura, or cherry blossom, is such a common name for a business that it might even be considered unimaginative—though in a way, that fits the unfashionable nature of these places. It really did seem like every town had one, and upon checking with the All Japan Snack Owners Association, he found that, indeed, among their members, Snack Sakura was the most common name. Consequently, he decided to try to visit and photograph as many of them as possible, traversing the country from Okinawa to Hokkaido.
At first, he simply stumbled upon Snack Sakuras without actively seeking them out. But once he resolved to actually locate them, things became considerably more challenging. Many of these establishments lack phone numbers or any web presence. For those that do have such details, by the time he arrived, he discovered that they had changed their names, the building had been torn down, or they had closed and never reopened. Nevertheless, little by little, he made headway. After six years of traveling across the country, he had photographed snacks named “Sakura” in more than half of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures. “Snack Sakura” reveals not an entirely “hidden” world of snacks, but rather one that only comes into view when observed from a particular angle.