By the late 1960s, women-run snack bars had proliferated nationwide. Originally, these humble neighbourhood fixtures offered little more than a counter with a few stools, a radio and a small kitchen where home-style dishes were served with whisky, beer and highballs (Japanese whisky and soda water). As Western culture increasingly poured into the nation in the 1970s and 1980s, and glitzy nightclubs and discos took over Japan's major entertainment districts, snack bars began to flourish as a quieter, more intimate alternative. They became community hubs, drawing in salarymen and regulars craving conversation, familiarity and a sense of belonging.

Many "snacks" adopted a unique bottle-keep (botoru kiipu) system that still exists, where regulars purchase a bottle of whisky or shōchū (a homegrown Japanese spirit), label it and store it behind the bar for future visits. This custom turned a casual drink at the local snack into a lasting relationship.

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Today, it's believed that roughly 100,000 snack bars operate across Japan – which, as Igarashi noted, is more than double the number of the nation's ubiquitous konbinis (convenience stores). A self-described "snack enthusiast", she has visited more than 1,200 snacks bars across Japan. In 2021, she started offering tours to snack bars to connect younger Japanese residents and travellers with places they either might be too intimidated to enter – or, in the case of foreigners, never knew existed.

"In many towns, I witnessed travellers and regulars laughing together while the mama treated everyone like a family for the night," Igarashi said. "Because of this, we created the [snack tours] as a gentle guide – [like] someone who opens the cultural door for new visitors."