This upscale entertainment district in Kita is home to bars, clubs, snack bars, small restaurants, and Japanese and Western cuisine. It spans a rectangular area measuring approximately 500 meters east to west and 250 meters north to south, bounded by National Route 2 to the north, the Dojima River to the south, Midosuji to the east, and Yotsubashi Bridge to the west. Its origins can be traced back to the creation of Dojima Shinchi in 1688, when various sections of the main tributaries of the Yodo River were renovated. In 1698, the Dojima Rice Market was held, and the area flourished, with feudal lord residences, teahouses, bathhouses, and theaters permitted. As the rice market developed and Dojima became a merchant district, the entertainment district moved to Sonezaki Shinchi, across the Sonezaki River. Sonezaki Shinchi was home to teahouses that employed prostitutes, as well as a variety of establishments including ramen shops, bathhouses, steam baths, theaters, shooting ranges, and inns, and by 1842 it had become Japan's first officially licensed pleasure district and prospered. Then, in 1912, the Sonezaki River was filled in, and Dojima Shinchi and Sonezaki Shinchi became the present-day Kitashinchi. After the war, it flourished as a place for business people to exchange information, and was also known as the "nighttime Chamber of Commerce." It is said that those who spent time hanging out in Kitashinchi were seen as having money to spare, and were therefore trusted by banks.