Kitazawa Bookstore is so beautiful that they have a sign up limiting each visitor to 6 photos (I actually tried to count while I was there and somehow left with 7 anyway). It’s just a old-school feeling bookstore, all dark wood and tall shelves. It specializes in books in the English language. I was proud of myself for not walking away with a stack (my self-control was at an all-time high, even if it was only because I hurt my back the day before and didn’t want a heavy backpack).

Enjoyed a walk among weathered tomes and retro editions on Sunday at the Kanda Furuhon (Used Book) Matsuri, taking place on the streets around Kanda-Jimbocho, Tokyo's "book town."

Used bookstore, Jinbocho/神保町, Tokyo

Is there ever a visit to a city without exploring its bookstores ? One of the larger, fancier stores in Tokyo.

Book and Bed Tokyo by CDawgVA

I could chill and read there all day. ☕️📚

Went to the bookstore yesterday

i need to update my manga collection carrd MANNN

My Once in a while meeting: One night with a man who writes Chinese poetry (prose )

When I was living in Tokyo, I changed my boarding house frequently, but I was in Nogata-cho, Nakano-ward for about two years. I thought that I would live in Nogata (means field)because the tiger lives in Nogata, probably because I become a tiger when I drink alcohol (?).(tiger means bad drunken.)

There are many second-hand bookstore in Nogata and Koenji, Suginami-ward, and I also like old books, so I went into Nogata's store and searched for my only book closely.

Suddenly, an old man called out to me. He said, "Your eyes are unusual, wonderful. Would you like to go out with me for a moment?"

The eye light that I was supposed to have ... This could be taken as a Cheeky guy seen from the eyes from a delinquent boy, but in this case, it was good that he called out.

His place of residence is in Koenji, and I lived in Koenji before I moved to Nogata, so it was like a hometown. Hey, I accompanied him.

Guided to my whereabouts, I shared with him each other's identities. He is a poet who writes Chinese poetry, and was introduced to some of the Chinese poetries he actually wrote. He also said, "Hero knows hero."

Sake was served, and I was allowed to eat his hearty food. It was good sake and gastronomy. While doing so, I read aloud Chinese poetry. He seemed happy with my reading.

With such a pleasant exchange, I vomited after drinking a little too much alcohol. He blames it and says, " What is vomiting food? --go out!"

I also left his house in response to the words of quarrel, saying, "If you don't like vomiting, don't bother calling me!" We just drank too much each other. Both were big tigers.

We have never met again since then. But now that I call myself a poet, I sometimes look back on what that encounter was. Does that Chinese poetry become the source of snow in me and support the poetry?

The encounter at that time would be "Ichi-go-ichi-e(一期一会)"(= Once in a while) in the phrase. Not only poetry, but his way of doing household chores and cooking is alive in me now.

(2018.09.23)

(Note: Tigers and big tigers are people who get drunken and become aggressive.)

Later, when I told an elder woman what happened, she said, "You should have apologized to him." I never thought of that, and I was surprised. We shared a good time with each other until I was blamed. The last was "both fighters are bad", and I thought we were both good and bad.

I have no intention of apologizing to him.

When I went to Tokyo’s book town, I had big bookstore-browsing plans. Unfortunately, the famous Sanseido Jimbōchō, an iconic institution (with a translated literature section), is actually being completely redone. What I saw was their temporary location. And while it didn't have books in English, and wasn't the primary headquarters it usually is, it was still a heck of a bookstore.

My love of how Japanese paperbacks fit in the hand led me to set off on a surprisingly fun treasure hunt. After seeing a hardcover of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, I decided to find a favorite book that I could take home for my collection. This was a challenge. Some of the front covers have the original English titles, but the spines do not, so I just had to stay in this English-translated-to-Japanese section and pull out books until I found a good one. I couldn’t find Woolf. I found Erin Morgenstern (I almost picked up The Starless Sea but it was split into two parts) and Toni Morrison, but I finally settled on a copy of The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I also found what I thought was the first Fruits Basket volume in Japanese, but turned out to be the new Fruits Basket series in Japanese. The main characters look exactly like Tohru and Kyo, so I had no idea. I’m not upset about it—I’m happy to support the author of my favorite manga. I purchased both and Sanseido covered them for me as well.

Village Vanguard in Shimokitazawa and Toranoana in Ikebukuro from my 16 hour layover in Tokyo. I should start a travel guide for fujos and book nerds. Other travel guides are for rich boring ppl who don’t know what doujin are.

Book Off, 340 E 2nd St, Ste 336, Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012

The Book-Off in Little Tokyo is much smaller than the ones in Gardena and Torrance. It doesn’t carry the wide variety of books, DVDs, and non-anime merchandise that other locations do. Instead, it’s focused exclusively on Japanese anime. They have pre-owned anime figurines (the nice ones are in glass display cases, the common ones are in bins), manga novels, video games, Pokemon trading cards, Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards, plush toys, stickers, etc. All that’s fine except there’s a much bigger store in Little Tokyo that carries the same things (Anime Jungle).

You can buy, sell and probably trade anime items.

3.5 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

Used bookstore in Jinbocho/神保町, Tokyo

“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.”

-Neil Gaiman

"When someone in the family dies an unusual death, other people feel free to comment for years afterward." A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino is out today. I haven't read a detective mystery in a while and this one was a welcome treat. It was my first time reading this author and a translated thriller but it won't be my last. Higashino knows how to build suspense and trick you into thinking you have everything all figured out. There was a lot of focus on characters in this one and for this reason I was suspicious about multiple people but ultimately did not figure out the ending. The tone and pacing were dark and slow paced. The slow storytelling forces you to focus more on all the key players. I loved Higashino's atmospheric writing style that brought downtown Tokyo to life. The folklore interwoven into the main murder plot was a nice touch. The attention to details was so crucial to figuring out some of the aspects of the murder. Higashino doesn't reveal too much but does give you enough to make you pay close attention and not get lost. It was very well balanced police procedural and I appreciated the cast list which proved to be very helpful. I do think that the story needed a bit more trimming because I did find myself losing focus and the plot lost momentum in some points. Overall, I enjoyed this one and would definitely give this author a try again. Read this one if you enjoy: 🇯🇵 Detective stories/ crime fiction 🇯🇵 Japanese representation 🇯🇵 family/ work conflicts 🇯🇵 Japanese folklore/ spirituality 🇯🇵 stories set in Japanese big cities 🇯🇵 commentary on death & family responsibility/ burden after death Thank you @minotaur for the gifted copy. #ADeathinTokyo #KeigoHigashino #bookrecommendations #books #bookstagram #bookcommmunity #bookreview #bookstagrammer #tbr #reading #Japan #Tokyo #thriller #crimefiction #detective #amreading #bookphotography #bookstore #Asia #AsianAuthors #Asianbooks #API #APIbooks #bookish #suspense #translatedlit #translatedfiction #BIPOCbookstagram #mystery #kirin (at Barnes & Noble) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmIc4NwLgp0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

never thought I’d see the day I could order five french volumes of tokyo revengers in one go it was like all out war to get your hands on a copy this time last year