Jimbocho is the nickname of the Kanda Jinbocho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Chiyoda City, and is famous not only for its many bookstores, but its long history in the publishing industry.
BOOK HOTEL Jimbocho
Just a 1-minute walk from Jimbocho Station, Book Hotel Jimbocho is a boutique hotel ideal for bibliophiles, and one of the first places to greet you as you step out of the train station. Each floor, including the guest rooms and lobby, is filled with books and manga of all genres, which guests can borrow freely.
Guests can also try out the hotel’s Book Matching service, where you fill out a questionnaire and the book concierge will scope out the perfect book for you. There’s even an on-site bar where you can relax with a book and a drink.
Address: 2-5-13 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Check-in time: 3PM
– Check-out time: 10AM
Book House Café
Though something of a unique combination, Book House Café hosts a café and a children’s bookstore. With shelves packed with picture books and children’s literature, this store makes for a cozy space to relax or read. Alongside the typical offerings of drinks, cakes, and free Wi-Fi, the café sells a beef and cheese curry that’s to die for.
Known for family-friendly events, it hosts picture book readings, author talks, and musical performances. There’s even an event space with a grand piano on the second floor. Talk about fancy!
Address: 1F Kitazawa Building, 2-5-3 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Bookstore:
Monday to Sunday: 11AM – 6PM
– Café:
Monday to Friday: 11AM – 5:30PM (last order 5PM)
Saturday & Sunday: 11AM – 6PM (last order 5:30PM)
Kitazawa Bookstore
Craving some English-language literature while in Japan? That’s what Kitazawa Bookstore is here for. Established in 1902, it just so happens to be one of Tokyo’s oldest and most respected used bookstores specializing in foreign books. With 12,000 secondhand books on humanities, history, art, and linguistics, it showcases many classics from the 1800s onward.
The store’s interior, renovated in 2018, has floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and an elegant, aged atmosphere. It’s a great stop for anyone in search of a good foreign title.
Address: 2F Kitazawa Building, 2-5 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 12PM – 5PM
– Sunday: Closed
Yaguchi Shoten
This bookstore specializes in books related to film, theater, scripts, and drama, and is famous for its extensive collection of film scripts, old photos, posters, and memorabilia linked to the long history of Japanese performance arts.
Yaguchi Shoten is probably best known for its bookshelves being set in the brick walls outside. The books are Japanese only, but it also sometimes sells DVDs in multiple languages, like English.
Address: 2-5-1 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 10:30AM – 6:30PM
– Sunday: 11:30AM – 5:30PM
Jimbocho Book Center
For a little more selection, head over to Jimbocho Book Center, which offers two sleek, modern stores carrying 9,000 titles. It also boasts a comfortable book café with a selection of books right in arm’s reach. bookstore known for its welcoming atmosphere and polished wooden shelves.
Most of the collection is in Japanese, but you can find a few English titles, along with a nice curry or custard pudding to tide you over until your next favorite read.
Address: Iwanami Bookstore Annex, 2-3-1 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 9AM – 7PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 10AM – 7PM
Anegawa Bookstores Nyankodo
Why stop at cat cafés when you can have a whole bookstore dedicated to cats? That’s what Anegawa Bookstores Nyankodo is all about, and they’re proud of it! This charming little stop is filled to the brim with cat-themed books and merchandise.
The shop offers over 2,000 cat books, including photo books, practical guides, picture books, and more, mainly in Japanese. Meanwhile, the aforementioned merchandise includes stationery, bags, and original goods designed by local artists.
Address: 2-2 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 10AM – 6PM
– Saturday: 10AM – 5PM
– Sunday: Closed
Meirinkan Books
While Nyankodo caters to cat lovers, Meirinkan Books has a laser-eyed focus on secondhand books on science, engineering, and mathematics. This store’s unique focus naturally attracts academics and researchers, but anyone interested in the sciences is welcome to stop by.
While the metallic detailing on its storefront gives off a somewhat cold impression, it’s a valuable resource for textbooks in both Japanese and English.
Address: 1-9 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday to Saturday: 10:30AM – 6PM
– Wednesday & Sunday: Closed
Isseido Booksellers
Specializing in rare and antique books, Isseido Booksellers has been around since 1903 and is comfortably settled in a Showa-era building. It offers both Western and Japanese books, scrolls, maps, and manuscripts, including a few items dating back centuries.
Isseido Booksellers is a treasure trove of novels, poetry, history, politics, and cultural topics, with a notable English-language section upstairs.
Address: 1-7 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 10AM – 6:30PM
– Sunday: Closed
Chekccori
Find a taste of Korea in Japan at Chekccori, a cozy bookstore featuring Korean literature and culture. Sequestered on the third floor of the Sankodo Building in Jimbocho, it holds around 3,500 Korean titles, from prose and poetry to comics and cookbooks, plus some Japanese texts about Korea and the Korean language.
On top of all that, the shop hosts a slew of activities throughout the year, including author visits, a monthly Book Review Club, and live YouTube events.
Address: 3F Sankodo Building, 1-7-3 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Tuesday: 12PM – 8PM
– Wednesday to Friday: 12PM – 7PM
– Saturday: 11AM – 7PM
– Monday & Sunday: Closed
Komiyama Bookstore
This family-run shop has a plethora of rare and vintage books, with a special highlight for photo and art books and fashion magazines. The multi-story store is especially famous for its impressive Yukio Mishima collection and offers a curated selection of Japanese and international works (but mostly Japanese artists).
Still, one of the beautiful things about art is you don’t need to understand the language to enjoy it, and with Komiyama hosting art exhibitions, it’s well worth a visit for any art lover.
Address: 1-7 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday & Thursday to Saturday: 12PM – 6:30PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 5:30PM
– Tuesday & Wednesday: Closed
Ohya Shobo
If you ever wanted to know more about the Edo period, Ohya Shobo is where you want to go. This bookshop has been around for over a century, selling antique Japanese books, maps, and ukiyo-e prints, a famous style of Japanese painting on wooden blocks that was most popular from the 1600s until the 1800s.
Ohya Shobo features some especially valuable art prints by celebrated artists like Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, making it a veritable gold mine for art history buffs.
Address: 1-1 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 11AM – 6PM
– Sunday: Closed
Books Tokyodo Kanda Jinbocho
Spanning three floors, Books Tokyodo Kanda Jinbocho keeps its fingers on the pulse of what’s popular by providing a wide variety of new books across multiple genres, including business, practical guides, art, literature, and the humanities. Each floor has a different focus, like business and art or literature and academic works.
The store even has a section for books by local indie publishers, as well as a small foreign language section, both on the third floor.
Address: 1-17 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 11AM – 8PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 11AM – 7PM
Bohemian’s Guild
Bohemian’s Guild marks its presence in Jimbocho with a bright red awning and the store’s name in both English and Japanese. It’s a well-known antiquarian bookstore flaunting an avant-garde selection on topics of art, design, photography, philosophy, and literature. Upstairs, you’ll find a gallery of original paintings, prints, and beautiful handwritten manuscripts.
The store also sells English-language books, notably some English translations of Japanese works. Picking up a volume or two here is a great way to learn a bit of Japanese while enjoying some literature.
Address: 1-1 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 12PM – 6PM
Nanyodo Bookstore
Stretch your design knowledge a bit at Nanyodo Bookstore, which hosts a heaping ton of titles on architecture, urbanism, and design in general. This store is a great resource for professionals, students, and enthusiasts alike.
The exterior also provides a nice bit of architectural uniqueness in the stone block design framing the storefront. The interior is laid out across two floors and is absolutely packed with books. The collection is primarily in Japanese, but you can find a smattering of English-language titles here and there.
Address: 1-21 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0051, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday, Friday & Saturday: 12PM – 6PM
– Thursday & Sunday: Closed
Books Sanseido (Main Branch)
Though not clustered in the same two streets as the other sites on this list, we don’t want to leave out Books Sanseido. It’s part of a chain of bookstores founded in 1881 and stretching across Japan, with its main branch right in Jimbocho.
Though it started out selling only used titles, it has since expanded into a comprehensive bookshop with a wide range of new books, including textbooks and literature, plus some gift items. It also has a pretty good selection of English books on its upper floors.
Address: 2-5 Kanda Ogawamachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0052, Japan
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 10AM – 8PM
