Photo/Illutration Shin Kito, who formerly withdrew from society, now operates a "yatai" food and drink stand. The photo was taken in Kita-Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on Sept. 12. (Yoshinobu Matsunaga)

KITA-NAGOYA, Aichi Prefecture--Behind the counter at his "yatai" food and drink stand, a cheerful Shin Kito asks two female customers, "What will you have to drink?"

It's hard to believe that Kito, 31, who lives in Moriyama Ward in Nagoya, had once been a "hikikomori" recluse in his house for eight years and withdrew from society.

But Kito said although he used to be scared of people, he now enjoys having conversations with customers at his stand, as he has finally found a place where he feels like he belongs.

“Life is sometimes tough on you, but I hope that I can provide a place where stressed-out people can feel relieved and help them from my own experiences,” Kito said. “I can’t believe it myself, but now I enjoy talking to people.”

Kito had been tormented in his relationships with his teachers and classmates since he was in elementary school.

When he was in the second year in junior high school, he was bullied and felt “scared of others.” He stopped attending school after that.

Kito stayed home all day and could forget his painful experiences by watching anime or playing video games.

He hated to be seen and even known by others. He had been trying to erase all traces of his own existence for eight years.

The turning point came when Kito was 21.

The Futoko Shimbun, a newspaper that carries articles on people who do not go to school and hikikomori, sought people who would accompany a reporter to interview renowned anime filmmaker Mamoru Oshii.

Kito was a big fan of Oshii and wanted to talk to him, so he joined the interview. It was the first time in a year that he had talked to anyone other than his parents and grandmother.

He spoke to Oshii and met other hikikomori like himself, and he realized that he had a reason for existence.

After that, he had more opportunities to get out and also made friends who had no experience of truancy or being hikikomori. He improved his communication skills gradually through drinking parties.

While he assisted on Web-related works for the Futoko Shimbun, he started to run a bar at a rental space in Nagoya's Nishi Ward in April last year.

He worked there for a year and then opened a mobile yatai bar, which travels around to wider areas.

In June, Kito kicked off the yatai named "Mobile bar key to" along with acquaintance Akiko Yamaguchi, who cooks the dishes.

The big appeal of the stand is the dishes made with homegrown vegetables and the selected alcoholic drinks.

The bar offers about 30 kinds of alcoholic drinks, including selected craft beers and original cocktails, as well as non-alcohol drinks.

On Sept. 12, the yatai, constructed from a light truck, lit up at the parking lot of the cafe in the Hojoji district of Kita-Nagoya at 6:30 p.m.

There were five chairs at the counter. The menu of the day included green pepper mixed with cheese and wasabi (Japanese horseradish), pumpkin and eggplant fried with oyster butter and other dishes. Some of the vegetables were grown by Kito's father and grandmother.

The homepage of Mobile bar key to is https://keyto.itdr.biz/

Business hours are between 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.