7 Foreign Booksellers in Jimbocho, a Neighborhood of Culture
Jimbocho, in Kanda, is known for having so many secondhand bookstores that it's called the "town of books." Everywhere you look there are bookstores stacked on each other, numbering about 180 of them. Here are some that carry foreign language books.
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1. Tamura Shoten
Tamura Shoten, opened in 1904, mainly carries French and German literature from the 16-20th centuries. They offer books in a variety of languages, including French, German, old English, Latin, and more, and almost everything they carry is high quality. They also buy and appraise books.
Business hours: 10AM - 6PM
Closed Sundays, holidays, and the New Year holiday from 12/30-1/4
HP: www.tamurashoten.com/ (Japanese Only)
Address: 17 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
2. Nauka Japan
Nauka Japan is a Russian literature specialty shop. The name "nauka" means "science," and they have a goal of diversifying the books published in Slavic languages. Even though it's a specialty shop, it carries a wide variety of genres and books both new and secondhand.
Business hours: 10AM - 7PM
Closed on Sundays and holidays
HP: www.naukajapan.jp/ (Japanese Only)
Address: 1-34 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
3. Oshima Shoten
Oshima Shoten, specializing in Western books, is known for carrying products at reasonable prices so even students can buy them. They also offer a variety of genres, not just language and science books but also historical and religious books. They also work hard to get paperbacks, so you can enjoy shopping there.
Business hours: 10:30AM - 6:30PM
Closed on Sundays and holidays
HP: jimbou.info/town/ab/ab0027.html (Japanese Only)
Address: Kurada Building 1F, 1-1 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
4. Ogawa Tosho
Ogawa Toshi is a Western bookstore mostly carrying English, foreign language study, and British and American literature. They have various genres, but they also carry extremely rare antique Western magazines so many Western literature fans love this shop. People also looking for old dictionaries should definitely stop here first.
Business hours: 10:30AM - 6:30PM
Closed on Sundays and holidays
HP: ogawatosho.jimbou.net/catalog/index.php (Japanese Only)
Address: 2-7 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo(Google Map)
5. Toho Shoten
Toho Shoten specializes in Chinese language books. This includes books published in Japan to books imported from China and Taiwan, so they carry a a wide number of books related to China. They have over 20,000 books. For people who would like books related to the Chinese language, please stop by. You can also order online.
Business hours: Monday - Friday 10AM - 7PM, Sunday 12PM - 6PM
HP: toho-shoten.co.jp/ (Japanese Only)
Address: 1-3 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
6. Kitazawa Shoten
Kitazawa Shoten was first opened in 1902 as a bookstore that delivered books to libraries and research facilities. Now it specializes in importing antique Western books, and carries around 12,000 volumes. They mostly have English language books focusing on literature.
Business hours: Monday - Friday 11AM - 6:30PM, Saturdays 12PM - 5:30PM
Closed Sundays and holidays
HP: www.kitazawa.co.jp/ (Japanese Only)
Address: 2-5 Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
7. Subunsou Shoten
Subunsou Shoten specializes in old Western books focusing on literature and social science. They offer an extremely wide variety of genres, from economics to children's book to rare books. It first opened in 1841, and has one of the country's finest collections. You'll feel as though you're in a museum. Every year they publish their catalog, so definitely check it out.
Business hours: 10AM - 6PM
Closed on Sundays and holidays
HP: www.subun-so.com/ (Japanese Only)
Address: 2-2 Kanda Ogawacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
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