Books
Here’s a short one that I’ve been meaning to write for awhile. Now, everyone in America enjoys Barnes and Nobles and Borders and even Amazon for all their book-related (and sometimes CD-related) needs. However, in Japan, there is another king as far as I’m concerned. And no, it’s not Kinokuniya.
(Background info: Kinokuniya is basically the Japanese version of Borders and Barnes and Noble put together. There is a NINE-STORY Kinokuniya store in Shinjuku [新宿] within walking distance of my school. Kinokuniya sells only new books and usually for the rather expensive cover-price. Dad – when we went to New York for my JET interview, the Japanese book store that we went to was one of the two American branches of Kinokuniya.)
Anyway, the God of Bookstores that I’m talking about is Book-Off. It’s a half-priced bookstore (with a 105 yen section) that has nearly everything I could ever want. When I shopped for Seimei books, I found a great many of them at Book-Off (almost fifty). When I looked for CDs of any kind, I could usually find them at Book-Off. I found all of my Carol merchandise and the amazingly rare Ai no Kusabi (間の楔) novel at Book-Off. Yes, the Carol and Ai no Kusabi novels were BOTH in the 105 yen section. (Note: 105 yen is less than a dollar. Usually there is a rate of about 110 yen per dollar, though it’s slightly more than that at the moment.) I even have my own non-expiring Book-Off Membership Card (which I got within the first week of coming to Japan) which doesn’t get me discounts, but gives me 5% in-store-credit on my purchase when I spend at least $10. That isn’t much, but at a place where nearly everything there is less than a dollar, that is quite a useful bonus.
So yeah, if it’s at least a few years old, I can generally find it at Book-Off. I’ve found CDs at Book-Off in the five-dollar range that I had previously paid a good deal of money for back in America. Seriously, this is the best way to buy anything Japan-related. Because of my relationship to Book-Off, I have only paid full price for a few of the books I’ve bought, the highest-priced one being a mere $17 or so.
And because Book-Off is so cheap, I’ve been able to create my own little mini-library in my room for a very small amount of money. I can easily boast over one hundred CDs and over one hundred books, all purchased on Japanese soil. Granted, that is quite a bit of money, but for what I got, it’s very much worth it. As anyone who imports CDs from Japan (Erik) knows, CDs usually cost the better part of $20 a piece, and DVDs can actually go as high as $80. Shipping is also brutal because that’s another $20-30 if you want it in the next week or two. Taking that into account, I’ve been shopping pretty well, I’d say.
So yeah, Book-Off is the King over here, though I think that unfortunately Book-Off is only a Tokyo (東京)-based chain. Holly says they have “Book-Half” out in Kushiro (釧路), but based on her description, it’s not nearly as cool or helpful as Book-Off. This is another reason why if you are plan to come to Japan and buying stuff is a big part of your trip, you should definitely come to Tokyo.
(Background info: Kinokuniya is basically the Japanese version of Borders and Barnes and Noble put together. There is a NINE-STORY Kinokuniya store in Shinjuku [新宿] within walking distance of my school. Kinokuniya sells only new books and usually for the rather expensive cover-price. Dad – when we went to New York for my JET interview, the Japanese book store that we went to was one of the two American branches of Kinokuniya.)
Anyway, the God of Bookstores that I’m talking about is Book-Off. It’s a half-priced bookstore (with a 105 yen section) that has nearly everything I could ever want. When I shopped for Seimei books, I found a great many of them at Book-Off (almost fifty). When I looked for CDs of any kind, I could usually find them at Book-Off. I found all of my Carol merchandise and the amazingly rare Ai no Kusabi (間の楔) novel at Book-Off. Yes, the Carol and Ai no Kusabi novels were BOTH in the 105 yen section. (Note: 105 yen is less than a dollar. Usually there is a rate of about 110 yen per dollar, though it’s slightly more than that at the moment.) I even have my own non-expiring Book-Off Membership Card (which I got within the first week of coming to Japan) which doesn’t get me discounts, but gives me 5% in-store-credit on my purchase when I spend at least $10. That isn’t much, but at a place where nearly everything there is less than a dollar, that is quite a useful bonus.
So yeah, if it’s at least a few years old, I can generally find it at Book-Off. I’ve found CDs at Book-Off in the five-dollar range that I had previously paid a good deal of money for back in America. Seriously, this is the best way to buy anything Japan-related. Because of my relationship to Book-Off, I have only paid full price for a few of the books I’ve bought, the highest-priced one being a mere $17 or so.
And because Book-Off is so cheap, I’ve been able to create my own little mini-library in my room for a very small amount of money. I can easily boast over one hundred CDs and over one hundred books, all purchased on Japanese soil. Granted, that is quite a bit of money, but for what I got, it’s very much worth it. As anyone who imports CDs from Japan (Erik) knows, CDs usually cost the better part of $20 a piece, and DVDs can actually go as high as $80. Shipping is also brutal because that’s another $20-30 if you want it in the next week or two. Taking that into account, I’ve been shopping pretty well, I’d say.
So yeah, Book-Off is the King over here, though I think that unfortunately Book-Off is only a Tokyo (東京)-based chain. Holly says they have “Book-Half” out in Kushiro (釧路), but based on her description, it’s not nearly as cool or helpful as Book-Off. This is another reason why if you are plan to come to Japan and buying stuff is a big part of your trip, you should definitely come to Tokyo.
posted by Me at 9:56 PM
1 Comments:
There's at least one Bookoff in Osaka, and one in New York City. It sounds as though the chain is expanding.
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