File#09
Charkha
Yamana Bldg. #1A
1-21-11 Kita-Horie, Nishi-ku, Osaka
Tel: 06-6537-0840
info@charkha.net
http://www.charkha.net
Hours: 11:30-20:00 (Sun./Hol. -19:00)
Charkha Japanese-Style Pub (Friday, 20:30-24:00)

The first time I went to Charkha was a little over a year ago on the same day I visited "Chochobokko", the subject of File #01. Since then, I've been back twice to leave some fliers. This time I went to take part in a special class about coffee. The shop hosts live music performances and workshops and other events on an irregular basis, so it is definitely worth checking back frequently to see what's happening. Be sure and bookmark the shop's website on your computer! Tickets for "The Diafilms of Hungary," part of the Charkha Magic Lantern Festival held in February and March, sold out in a flash. And in the end, I wasn't able to go. So when the subject of allowing C'est Mignon to rent the films from the shop came up, I immediately decided to show them in Wakayama. The first thing that surprised and excited me was having to directly negotiate with the people who own the rights to the films in Hungary - it was as if I was running my own distribution company.

Charkha has its own original stationery to go with its homemade cafe menu.
There is a strong emphasis on creating a genuine Charkha brand. Of the small items in stock, the ones from Eastern Europe are especially eyecatching. The name of the shop apparently comes (unexpectedly) from Hindu. A cafe with stationery and flowers: Here you have a flower shop and at the same time, that rare thing - a night cafe, of which there are many, that looks good in the light of day. The two people who run the shop, Kubo-san, who is in charge of the flowers, and Toyama-san, a copywriter who wanted to run a coffee shop with large tables, invited Mizushima-san to join them as an event planner. Thus, each of the three has been able to accomplish the things they wanted to do. The shop opened in September 1999. It just so happened that nothing much was going on in Horie at the time, and though people kept telling them, "Horie is going to be the next big thing," they somewhat dubiously decided on the location.