{"id":104794,"date":"2024-11-05T09:03:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T15:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=104794"},"modified":"2024-11-05T09:04:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T15:04:20","slug":"tokyos-jimbocho-book-district-is-heaven-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/tokyos-jimbocho-book-district-is-heaven-on-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Tokyo\u2019s Jimbocho book district is \u2018heaven on earth\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stephana Ocneanu<\/b>
\n<\/span>Medill Reports<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

TOKYO \u2014 It\u2019s winter in Tokyo. After several days of snow and rain, locals soak up the sun with an afternoon stroll through Jimbocho. Bookstores line the streets, some exhibiting their collections with shelves and carts outside, others with glass doors welcoming a glimpse inside. Most owners take advantage of every inch of space by doing both.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n

Dubbed the \u201cCity of Books,\u201d Jimbocho has long attracted students, locals and tourists from all over the world. Less than a 20-minute walk from the Imperial Palace, Jimbocho is home to around 200 bookstores that neighbor one another on every street. The smell of curry and udon noodles travels from the restaurants tucked within alleyways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Jimbocho, visitors find everything from manga art to scientific essays to rare Japanese collectibles and prints.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like more and more people are checking out the dream of visiting Jimbocho as a way to experience Japanese culture in their lives, like bringing home an old book made from the paper used in ancient Japan,\u201d said Nene Komori, an employee at the Book Hotel, which has 12 floors themed around different literary genres, such as mystery and romance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
Book Hotel, located in Jimbocho, has 12 literary-themed floors (Stephana Ocneanu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

A history of survival<\/span><\/h1>\n

During the Meiji period, many universities were built around the Jimbocho area, in Chiyoda City. To cater to the students, booksellers purchased used academic textbooks and resold them. As the shops multiplied, Jimbocho transformed into a used bookstore district, according to Fueisha, a Japanese publishing company.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Isseido, a bookstore in Jimbocho, is known for its selection of Western books (Stephana Ocneanu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then, in 1923, Jimbocho, along with nearly half of Tokyo, disintegrated during the Great Kanto Earthquake. It wasn\u2019t until the 1930s that bookstores began to bloom in the neighborhood again. The book district was more fortunate during World War II, when it was spared from heavy bombing in Tokyo.<\/span><\/p>\n

An all-inclusive oasis<\/span><\/h1>\n

Today, Jimbocho has organically evolved to cater to new visitors. Select stores specialize in book and magazine collections in different languages, such as German, Russian and Chinese. Most stores have signs with English translations, and if you look hard enough, you\u2019ll find English classics, such as Jane Austen\u2019s \u201cPride and Prejudice.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
A 500-page Japanese edition of \u201cPride and Prejudice,\u201d by Jane Austen, at a bookstore in Jimbocho in 2016 (photo credit: Natasha Brandstatter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet the real beauty of exploring Jimbocho lies in finding rare Japanese prints.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natasha Brandstatter read about the district as she planned her visit from Colorado to Japan in 2016. A freelance writer at the time, Branstatter never passed up an opportunity to shop for books. As her friends visited Honda\u2019s headquarters, she escaped to Jimbocho.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got off the train, the first thing I saw was a mural with books on the station\u2019s walls,\u201d Brandstatter said. \u201cIt got me so excited, like it was everything I could imagine it to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan Fleming first visited Jimbocho in 2018, when he and his wife moved from Portland, Oregon, to Tokyo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSure enough, I fell in love with it,\u201d Fleming said. An avid reader, Fleming enjoyed exploring the district for hours that day and has since made monthly visits to the Kitazawa Bookstore and Yamamoto Books.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout his time living in Japan, Fleming said he has admired the culture\u2019s love and respect for books. Centuries-old texts are displayed in glass cases, and newer prints are sized to fit in your pocket and reduce space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Japanese magazines and prints are protected in a glass case at Isseido Bookstore in Jimbocho. (Stephana Ocneanu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018E-books are just information\u2019<\/span><\/h1>\n

According to the <\/span>Publishing Science Research Institute\u2019s<\/span><\/a> 2023 Publication Index Annual Report, electronic publishing sales are rising in Japan, while physical book sales are declining. Between 2020 and 2022, sales for e-books had a 27.5% increase. Sales for physical books during the same period dropped by 2.5%<\/span><\/p>\n

Amid the rising popularity of e-books and audiobooks, Komori said she hopes Jimbocho can serve as a reminder of the importance of physical literature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to be able to actually hold old books in your hands, and to see rare and valuable editions still being sold,\u201d Komori said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brandstatter also said she prefers the feel of a physical book, something you can\u2019t get with a Kindle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cE-books are just information,\u201d Brandstatter said. \u201cYou can\u2019t put your copies on shelves, admire their cover art, scribble little notes down and pass them along to your children.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked how he\u2019d describe the district to someone who\u2019s never visited, Fleming quoted Argentine writer Jorge Borges, \u201cI have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking out the window of the Kitazawa Bookstore, he smiled and pointed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the best thing you can say about Jimbocho is that if Borges saw it, he would say it\u2019s heaven on earth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephana Ocneanu graduated with a master\u2019s of science in journalism, and a specialization in investigative journalism, from Medill in 2024. You can see more of her work <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>, or connect with her on <\/span><\/i>LinkedIn<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stephana Ocneanu Medill Reports TOKYO \u2014 It\u2019s winter in Tokyo. After several days of snow and rain, locals soak up the sun with an afternoon stroll through Jimbocho. Bookstores line the streets, some exhibiting their collections with shelves and carts outside, others with glass doors welcoming a glimpse inside. Most owners take advantage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":974,"featured_media":104801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5438,5407],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-summer-2024","category-tokyo-2024"],"yoast_head":"\nTokyo\u2019s Jimbocho book district is \u2018heaven on earth\u2019 - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/tokyos-jimbocho-book-district-is-heaven-on-earth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tokyo\u2019s Jimbocho book district is \u2018heaven on earth\u2019 - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Stephana Ocneanu Medill Reports TOKYO \u2014 It\u2019s winter in Tokyo. 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