Tokyobling's Blog

More Jimbocho Bookstores – Night

Posted in Places, Shops by tokyobling on March 12, 2015

The best way to show the sheer multitude of choices when it comes to book stores in Jimbocho there is probably no easier way than just posting a lot of photos. Here are 17 more, showing just a few of the many many book stores that make the area so famous. There are of course a lot of the large book chains represented, flashy modern book stores, but in these posts I focus on the dingy smaller shops. At night they look even more inviting and mysterious!

When going to Jimbocho for a day of browsing I recommend leaving all your gear at home or in your room. The aisles in these stores are usually to narrow for even one person let alone two or someone carrying baskets or bags. If you are worried about your economy I would also recommend leaving your wallet at home – the risk of impulse purchases is simply too great!

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  1. Charade said, on March 17, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    Great photos here.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply
  2. cyventurini said, on March 17, 2015 at 8:05 pm

    Thank you for sharing! Great photos!
    I will have to make myself a note to visit here when I go to Japan next time…

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  3. segmation said, on March 30, 2015 at 8:41 pm

    Your photos of Jimbocho Bookstore makes me feel like I am actually at this bookstore! I wish this bookstore many more years of success. I hope that the invention of ebooks is a positive thing for Jimbocho!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  4. triciatierney said, on March 30, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    Your beautiful photos remind me of my inadequacies. I lived in Japan for close to 4 years and never learned to read beyond a kindergarten level. All those books, the bounty of books, and I could never read a one! So perhaps it’s not a coincidence, now where I can read again, I’ve worked in a bookstore for 18 years!

    Liked by 5 people

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    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:24 am

      That was certainly not my intention! (^-^;) But I feel your pain, living in a foreign country as a book lover and not being able to read any of them is tough!

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  5. keys1988 said, on March 30, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

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  6. Anthony said, on March 30, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    That is a great series of photographs for a remarkable area.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  7. celticcute said, on March 30, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    Amazing photos! Wow

    Liked by 4 people

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  8. V. Alarcón-Córdoba said, on March 30, 2015 at 11:30 pm

    The b&w photos look vintage, like they were taken a very long time ago. Nice feeling of nostalgia. Old books.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  9. Exile on Pain Street said, on March 31, 2015 at 12:24 am

    NYC used to look like that. First Barnes and Noble killed bookstores, then Amazon killed Barnes and Noble. The saddest, sorriest story of the 20th century.

    Liked by 4 people

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    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:26 am

      Amazon and Ebooks are not sustainable in the long run. Book stores will eventually return, I am sure of it!

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  10. sarahplesset said, on March 31, 2015 at 2:38 am

    I love these! Especially the black and white.

    Liked by 3 people

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  11. Sketchpacker said, on March 31, 2015 at 2:39 am

    Gah! I can definitely relate to this: I live in HCMC and ride a bicycle to get around. The combination of frequent book, food and gnick-gnack stores and the fact that I tend to ride at a slow enough pace to get a good look at said stores makes for a very dangerous rate of wallet depletion… Have you come across any stores that offer books AND CDs?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:27 am

      Thank you for the kind comment! Most stores have a good mix of media. I’d be more worried about my physical safety biking slowly in Saigon! (^-^;)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Sketchpacker said, on May 19, 2015 at 4:21 am

        Hahaha it is slightly petrifying! But very cheap, good exercise, and somewhat addictive 🙂

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  12. Cath said, on March 31, 2015 at 3:29 am

    Thank you for sharing! Made me miss the anime R.O.D!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:27 am

      Thank you for the kind comment! That anime is not known to me… (^-^;)

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      • Cath said, on June 11, 2015 at 11:00 am

        Oh,the anime and manga are old,early 2000’s. No matter, I just really really love books,real paper ones!

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  13. moodsnmoments said, on March 31, 2015 at 4:13 am

    what a perspective! who thought so many book shops could depict a town! brilliant. thank you for these 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  14. picturespaintingsandotherscribblings said, on March 31, 2015 at 6:38 am

    I appreciate seeing this. My grandmother used to have this little bookstore before the town became a bigger town. Nice photographs 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  15. fbickham2012 said, on March 31, 2015 at 5:40 pm

    In everyone of these, i kept seeing Yomiko Readman dashing from door to door, dragging along her suitcase stuffed with books.

    Liked by 5 people

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  16. charcocat22 said, on March 31, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    Loved it

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  17. Christopher Corke said, on March 31, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    Great photos! Just another place added to the list of places I have to go to.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  18. A Pondering Mind said, on April 1, 2015 at 4:48 am

    I just love how the stores flow out onto the walk way and in some cases the street even. Looks inviting and offers an enormous amount of intrigue. Great photo collection

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:29 am

      That is also one of my favorite aspects! Thank you for the kind comment! (^-^)

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  19. magrelinhos said, on April 1, 2015 at 10:10 am

    That’s where a bookworm can get drunk at night!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:30 am

      Drunk enough to lose house and home! Thank you for the kind comment! (^-^)

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  20. Laura Gabrielle Feasey said, on April 1, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    Such beautiful photos. I’ve always loved the shapes formed by a stack of books, I’ve been dreaming of a room filled with my own collection since I was very small, but if I had these book shops nearby, I’d be very happy with those! It’s great to see that somewhere bookshops are still thriving even through the age of digital reading.

    Liked by 3 people

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    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:30 am

      I am sure it will grow even bigger with more new stores in the future! Thank you for the kind comment! (^-^)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  21. jayne3wp5 said, on April 1, 2015 at 12:35 pm

    This is great. A lot of our small book shops have disappeared.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:31 am

      We need to find ways for small unprofitable but loved business thrive in our cities.

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  22. Nicholas Conley said, on April 1, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    Amazing photos! Very cool.

    Like

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  23. tranthanhbinh202 said, on April 2, 2015 at 4:50 am

    These places are just beautiful and clean. Thanks for introducing and inspiring me!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  24. uaifestival said, on April 2, 2015 at 12:30 pm

    Bxxx Dash… I would check it out soon..;)

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  25. maxinemicu said, on April 2, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    I like how you focus on a specific place to fully share the experience. 🙂

    Like

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  26. Poopy Diaries said, on April 2, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    I love books shops! This is definitely a place I would visit when I go to Japan!

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  27. Teen Girl said, on April 2, 2015 at 4:18 pm

    Great blog! Thank-you for writing this

    Like

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  28. jreu said, on April 2, 2015 at 5:07 pm

    Wow, captivating photography! I feel strangely like reading now…..

    Like

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  29. aktcornelio said, on April 3, 2015 at 7:02 am

    What I love Japan is that they value mom and pop shops. These little bookstores are so picturesque. I don’t know how to read yet in Japanese but I love browsing inside these types of stores!

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  30. namrathasaldanha said, on April 3, 2015 at 8:43 am

    Makes me want to go to Japan! And when I do – will surely visit this place – i am the queen of impulse buys! And i love books!

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  31. irenedeboer2013 said, on April 3, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Definitely will need to leave my wallet at home if I visit Tokyo, specifically that area, later this year. Love the pics!

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  32. Renee Bell said, on April 3, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    These beautiful photos make my inner reader cry out for them. They look as if they are close enough for me to touch the pages of the books they are selling. This is amazing!

    Like

    Reply
  33. Kristen Salem said, on April 4, 2015 at 4:07 am

    Beautiful! Like small landscapes in among themselves! Thank you for sharing!

    Like

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  34. Rina said, on April 4, 2015 at 4:23 pm

    Beautiful Photographs, I’m glad I came across your post. If I ever visit Japan, I would love to visit here.

    Like

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  35. thetypingtempest said, on April 4, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Love the creative effort to represent Japan, its character, culture and love of books. Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  36. aryacave said, on April 5, 2015 at 11:23 am

    The bookstores there are mostly selling jap books(obviously). I went there and it was nice. But i like kinokuniya for eng book surfing and then later ordering it online. lol.

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    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:36 am

      There are a few English language book stores though, hard to find though!

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  37. agustinbalbi said, on April 6, 2015 at 11:15 am

    Living in Japan too ? Great work, Otsukaresama !!

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  38. Mollison said, on April 7, 2015 at 2:03 am

    I love that you purposefully chose the smaller bookstores, those are the real gems. I’d love to visit some of these! Great photos 🙂

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  39. Marcus said, on April 7, 2015 at 3:14 am

    Those are some great photos!

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  40. Mona E Light said, on April 7, 2015 at 7:55 am

    Great photos, my dream is to visit Japan one day!.

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  41. An Activist Abroad said, on April 7, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    What a beautiful idea, to shoot in the dark. I am deeply inspired by your post. Keep up the great work.

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  42. bikiwiki7 said, on April 8, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    We’re going to Japan next week! I hope I can squeeze this in our schedule… such lovely pictures! Thank you for this 🙂

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    • tokyobling said, on May 19, 2015 at 2:38 am

      Did you manage to squeeze it in? Thank you for the kind comment! (^-^)

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  43. amkuska said, on April 8, 2015 at 11:23 pm

    Ooooh, I so want to visit all these wonderful bookstores!

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  44. trucosviajeros said, on April 14, 2015 at 11:01 am

    Thank you for sharing! Great selection of bookstores and great pictures 😉

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  45. blusabbia said, on April 28, 2015 at 10:03 am

    Great photos!

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  46. neilthewanderer said, on July 28, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    love tokyo, love your blog too. im a fan

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