Still confused by Japanese bookstores after almost a decade

8 comments

1. Who cares? They don’t. Yes. See question 2. Who cares? Confirmation bias and survivorship bias: plenty of generic bookstores exist outside of Japan but amidst a general dying-off of bookstores, niche shops that put effort into their store design might end up surviving.

2. Those magazine stores are fronts for the Yakuza. Probably

3. I wish I could read Japanese magazines. They look so interesting. The Japanese learning section is the only section I go at Kinokuniya lol

4. It’s probably just confusing because you can’t accept it for what it is and keep comparing it to “back home.”

5. I don’t understand your complaint

6. I still read paperbacks. I hate audio books, and I hate things with batteries even more. Nothing feels as good as a book in your hand. The smell, the feel, everything about it is wonderful.

   I was in an airport a few years back and a lady walked up to me. She just wanted to say how great it was to see someone reading an actual book.

7. I think you need to just stay in the English section of bookstores or buy your books online.

   Complaining and comparing places to ones “back home” won’t do you any good if you live here. It’s not going to change to fit your image of what you think bookstores should be like so you might as well accept it.

8. Japanese or not who the fuck remembers their book’s publishers? what the fuck are you complaining about?