Tokyo Shopping Guide: Books and Manga

You’ve made it to Tokyo, taken in the sights, the lights, and some history, and now it’s time to shop. The city has a little something for everyone, especially when it comes to printed matter.

Don’t let Japan’s image as a technology-consuming culture fool you; the printed word is still held in high regard.

Bookstores are thriving, just look around you, and you’ll start to notice; people reading manga on their commute, holding a smaller format book (known as bunkobon) with a paper cover, or neatly bundled in piles outside people’s houses on recycling day. Whether you have literary leanings, are an obsessed otaku, or somewhere in between, this guide has everything you need to find your perfect paper purchase!

Jimbocho is a neighborhood in central Tokyo known for its rich literary history and an impressive collection of used bookshops lining its narrow streets.

The neighborhood is home to bookstores that specialize in rare and vintage books in multiple languages. Walking through the alleys, getting lost in the never-ending rows of books, is easy. Each store has its own unique charm, so don’t be afraid to explore and let the scent of old books waft over you.

For book lovers, Jimbocho is an absolute paradise, where one can easily spend hours browsing through collections and discovering literary gems. If you come through Jimbocho station, don’t forget to look closely at the walls adorned with images of, you guessed it, books.

While we encourage you to get lost and explore, here are a few stand outs to start with:

For the art lover, check out Yamada Shoten, which has three floors dedicated to art books. For rare and academic English books, head to Kitazawa bookstore, which has been around since 1902. They're located on the second floor of another bookstore called Book House.

Kagerou Bunko is an illustrated book lover's paradise, operating since 2003; they house rare Japanese illustrated books (especially children's books) and prints from before the twentieth century. And finally, for all things, cats (yes, cats), head to Anegawa bookstore Nyankodo to satisfy all the feline-related book cravings you never knew you had.

And if you happen to be in Tokyo from late October - Early November, be sure to check out the Kanda Used Book Festival, which takes place in the neighborhood.

Two of the main bookstore chains to look out for are Kinokuniya and Tsutaya, you’ll find them and their most significant stores in major shopping districts such as Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore chain with a long history. It was founded in 1927 and initially started as a small bookstore in Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood, with a focus on selling foreign-language books to students and scholars. It now has stores worldwide in major cities such as New York, San Francisco, Sydney, and Singapore and is one of the largest bookstore chains in the world.

Kinokuniya has two locations in Shinjuku. The main store is just three minutes from Shinjuku station's east exit. It's massive, spanning nine floors filled with books, magazines, a small selection of foreign-language books, stationary, and a separate building dedicated just to manga and DVDs.

The other location can be accessed from the South exit of Shinjuku station and has an excellent selection of foreign-language books. It's located in a building right next to the department store Takashimaya Times Square in case you have difficulty finding it. Head to the sixth floor, and you'll discover a vast array of translated Japanese literature and more. Its English book collection is impressive, so if you're not confident enough in your Japanese skills, this is the place for you.

Tsutaya somewhat rivals Kinokuniya but with a slightly heavier focus on media (you can still rent DVDs at many Tsutaya outlets). They’re located all over Tokyo, but their most iconic branch might be the one smack dab in the middle of Shibuya’s iconic scramble crossing.

You’ve seen the rounded glass windows (with a Starbucks on the second floor), in movies, on Instagram, you name it. The chain doesn’t carry a huge amount of foreign-language books, but it's great for contemporary Japanese fiction and manga.

The ‘T’ in T-Site actually stands for Tsutaya and is technically an outpost of the chain, but the look and atmosphere of the store are very different. Located in the trendy and upscale neighborhood of Daikanyama, the store is spread across three interconnected cube-like buildings, each offering a different experience.

The buildings are connected with what the store calls a "magazine street", in other words, rows of magazines that run down the middle. The design was built around the concept of “constructing a cultural forest” according to the architects.

The interior is modern, minimal, and sleek, with an amazing selection of art and design books, foreign magazines, small press publications, and more. They regularly host exhibitions featuring local artists and Japanese brands. One of the best parts? There are plenty of spots to sit with a pile of books and magazines, including an upscale cafe on the second floor and Starbucks on the first.

BOOKOFF is a popular secondhand chain of very affordable books, manga, CDs, DVDs, and video games. It's been around since 1991, and the recognizable blue sign with yellow letters is spread across the country with more than 800 locations. They also have flagship stores called BOOKOFF PLUS, such as the one found in Ueno.

They're neighborhood staples, and shops range in size. You can even find books in English, depending on stock and location. BOOKOFF is a book and manga hoarder's paradise, as single volumes usually go for cheap. Compared to some other used bookstores, BOOKOFF is well organized, clean, and bright, and all items are in great condition.

If you’re willing to go a bit off the beaten path from Tokyo’s busier neighborhoods, these bookstores offer a special treat for anyone interested in art and design, and discovering something new.

Located in the Ebisu neighborhood, POST is unique in that they only showcase one publisher’s work at a time. This allows them to showcase and curate an intimate display of material from international publishing houses. They focus mostly on books about art, photography, design, and architecture.

You’ll find Book and Sons in the backstreets of trendy Gakugeidaigaku. The bookstore mainly focuses on contemporary photography and even has a gallery space where they exhibit the works of both local and international photographers.

Nostos books is probably the most off-the-beaten path of the bunch. However, it’s an easy pairing with a visit to Shimokitazawa, about five stops away on the local Odakyu line. Their curation is quite conceptual, and they aim to have their customers discover a “new past”. They sell a mix of new and old with focuses on arts, crafts, literature, culture, graphic design, architecture and interiors, and science.

You just can’t help but feel cool walking into this store. The layout of the store is expertly designed, stocking magazines, hard-to-find books, their own published works, exhibitions, workshops, and more. They also sell a nice selection of home goods, stationery, clothes, and even jewelry. They have a small but interesting selection of manga as well from lesser-known authors.

Mandarake is a chain of stores in Japan that specializes in the sale of used anime, manga, and other related merchandise. The company was founded in 1980 and houses massive collections spanning vintage manga to rare figurines, retro toys, animation cels, and more.

Mandarake has locations all across Tokyo, but if you only have time for one, let it be the flagship store in the Nakano Broadway shopping complex. And get ready to get lost or try to make sense of it all. Mandarake spans four floors of the shopping complex in a dizzying array of small stores spanning luxury watch retailers to hobby doll collector stores. There are actually around 30 separate Mandarake stores in the complex, with each specializing in something unique.

The flagship Animate location in Ikebukuro is ground zero for all things manga and anime. The place is big. Massive big. Nine stories big. In fact, they just underwent a massive renovation this spring to mark their 40th anniversary with the claim of being the world’s largest anime store. The chain has made its mark with over 120 shops across Japan and 11 stores overseas. You get the idea. Out of the nine floors, manga can be found on the second and third floors.

K-BOOKS is another great option for finding manga in the Ikebukuro and Akihabara neighborhoods. It is a store that sells new and used manga, but its point of difference is that it also sells self-published manga (known as doujinshi in Japanese) as well as anime merchandise, character goods, and cosplay costumes.

Lashinbang is a store that specializes in secondhand anime, manga, and character goods with locations in Nakano, Akihabara, and Ikebukuro (you’re probably starting to see a pattern by now). They have a large selection of new and used manga, as well as anime merchandise, CDs, DVDs, and cosplay items. The store is located on the second floor of a building on Otome Road which is an area popular with female manga fans.