Kokai shopping street, named before its now-eponymous bridge, has existed since the Edo era (when there was no bridge, just a hand-rowed ferry) and is known as “the kitchen of Kumamoto.” It began as a shopping area for lower-level samurai who lived in the area and then thrived as a black market following WWII, where farmers sold their goods directly. But its roots go back a thousand years further to the Heian era, when it was a center of sericulture - the raising of silkworms - which can be written as 蚕養, but that difficult kanji eventually evolved into the homonymous but more simple 子飼.
The merchants are a close-knit bunch; my wife cannot buy so much as an egg without 10 minutes of chat (I bring a novel). Even the music piped into the street is themed, some days enka, others Beatles (sad there’s no band called the Silkworms) - Hawaiian is popular in the summer. That such a location can persevere in our modern world is remarkable and a tribute to the can-do spirit of Kumamoto.
Occasionally, the street association holds events. On Saturday, 3/2, a 100 yen event will be held, where merchants try to price their goods at that level. To support your local merchants, a visit is recommended - but be warned: if you become friends with them, it will take you 10 minutes to buy an egg. - William