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Buying English books in Japan

It isn’t easy to find good foreign books in Japan for reasonable prices. Many bookstores have no foreign language titles, and those that do (Maruzen, Kinokuniya,etc.) usually offer a very limited selection and prices far higher than what English speakers may have been used to paying in their home countries. Foreign magazines rarely go on sale in Japan close to their original date of publication and are sometimes sold at over doubled their original cover price.

In this post I will attempt to share some helpful information about where residents of Japan can purchase English language books at reasonable prices.

1. Order books online from Amazon.co.jp

Amazon.co.jp has a good selection of English language titles, some of which, such as Haruki Murakami novels, are being sold for almost the same price on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.jp.

com-vs-jp

However, when one moves beyond popular Japan-related titles, there is a very noticeable mark-up in most book prices. If cheaper used titles are not available, pleasure reading could become very expensive.

Domestic shipping is usually free for orders over ￥1,500, so it’s not all bad news. It should also be noted that every item page on the site has a “Click here to see in English” link, so shopping is easily accessible to those who can’t read kanji.

A few other useful online book shops for Japan:

Kinokuniya Book Web – like Amazon.co.jp, but with no English interface
Infinity Books – used titles shipped from Japan

2. Find a store that specializes in foreign books

Residents of larger cities can probably find small bookstores that specialize in foreign books. These stores usually sell used books, sometimes for very good prices. They may also allow you to trade in some of your old books for store credit.

Here is a list of a few such stores:

Tokyo

Kyoto

Green Books

Kobe

Wantage Books

Osaka

Book-Off in Shinsaibashi

[If you know of any other stores, leave a comment on this post and I will add them to the list.]

3. Order books online from foreign websites (in bulk)

Many niche books simply aren’t being sold in Japan and you will have to shop through foreign websites to get them. In terms of overall selection of English language books, it is hard to beat Amazon.com. Even when you are shopping for titles already available in Japan, using Amazon.com may actually be a cheaper option.

You’ll have to pay for international shipping, but Amazon’s shipping rates to Japan are quite good. Buying several books at a time can reduce the overall shipping cost per book, so plan your future reading! Most items take one or two weeks to arrive via standard shipping, so this option may not be good for the impatient.

I would also recommend Daedalus Books, a book warehouse that sells titles at up to 90% off retail prices. Their selection is limited to titles that are overstocked, but it’s almost impossible to beat some of their deals. Shipping from Daedalus takes longer than Amazon.com- in my experience it took a little over a month for their large box to arrive.

Other foreign book shops on the net:

Better World Books – cheap worldwide shipping
Deep Discount – books and DVD’s at low prices
BookFinder – compare the prices of many online book sellers

4. Get an e-book reader

Why pay for shipping when you can download books immediately? E-book reading devices such as the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony digital e-reader are looking pretty good these days. Most e-books are cheaper than their paper versions and e-book readers eliminate the hassle of having to transport heavy books when traveling or moving to a new apartment.

Although Amazon does not ship the Kindle to Japan, a few of my expat friends have been able to obtain Kindles by having the device shipped to friends/family in the States who then forward it to Japan. The extremely cheap magazine subscriptions available to Kindle are an attractive option to any expat annoyed with magazine prices in Japan. The Kindle’s mobile delivery service is not available in Japan, which means content must be transferred via USB from a computer. Even so, I’ve heard great things about reading books on its $150 million screen.

The iPhone can also function as an e-book reader, and Softbank happens to be giving them out for free now to people who commit to 2-year contracts.

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For those who are looking for new books and are okay with paying a little more than the prices online, you can look for the following Japanese bookstores:

Kinokuniya
Maruzen
Junkudo
Yaesu Book Center
Tower Records/Books (larger stores)
Yurindo

Of course, if you don’t want to pay for books at all, try your local library. Most have some foreign language books!

[Thanks to Niels, Chris, Ru.Ru., Rorimack, Miss_igirisu, Ken, William, Joe, ThisTokyoLife, Jules, and Liz for contributing to this list.]

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Do you read e-books?

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30 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - March 3, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Categories: General Japan Tags:

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Miss_igirisu

Went to the Blue Parrot once last year, was very impressed. Highly recommended, if you can find it!
Ru.Ru

I’m not living in Japan but I’m surprised you didn’t say anything about Kinokuniya.

However, this post is very useful especially if I get to study in Japan in the future (I love to read!). Thank you.
Rorimack

Deep Discount is also reliable, and for a larger order it could be really cheap (since shipping cost is calculated by order, not by books, as with Amazon.com).

http://www.deepdiscount.com/

Checking your local Kinokuniya or Junkudo is also a good option. You could find 30% discounts (or even 70%, if you are lucky). Since in these bookstores the books are priced when they arrive, and the Japanese price is calculated from the actual exchange rate, if there are several copies it worth to check every one for the best price.

lovely

hey – thanks for the info on deep discount. i think i will be using them in the near future.

Chris

The Kinokuniya in Times Square (Shinjuku station south exit) has an amazing selection of English books. Better than some book stores in the US.

The Yaesu Book Center on the east side of Tokyo station and the Maruzen in Nihombashi are also pretty good.
niels

For Osaka,

Try Book-Off shinsaibashi. They have a neat selection of used foreign books.
Even found a Dutch language book there.
Please note that only a few of the Book-Off stores have any foreign material, book wise.
ST

$359 for a Kindle plus DRM up the butt? No thanks. No electronic gadget will ever replace a real book.

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

Yeah, just like no electronic gadget will ever replace CDs…err Tapes…err Stereo 8…err 4-track cartridges…err records.

I just take my grand piano everywhere I go and play songs live when I want to hear them.
http://nonjatta.blogspot.com Chris Bunting

You are dead wrong about the electronic gadget claim. Have you tried an ebook reader? My iphone ebook reading app has revolutionised my reading. The book market is in the middle of a really major change. The problem at the moment is getting hold of ebooks in Japan but that will change in months. You are right about the DRM but we know that people will over look DRM if a company will make access to a very wide selection of material easy enough.

Chris

Kinokuniya in Times Square (Shinjuku south exit) has a huge floor of foreign books — better selection than some stores in the US.

Yaesu Book Center on the east side of Tokyo station and Maruzen in Nihonbashi are also pretty good.
hl

What about libraries? How does it work there? Do they have English book collections?

Miss_igirisu

Oh yes, completely forgot. In Nagoya there is a library in the international centre which is very good. I could even read Cosmo and British newspapers for free too without having to stand and read in Maruzen.

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http://witzl.blogspot.com/ Mary Witzl

I can personally vouch for Daedalus. We used to live for our Daedalus delivery when we lived in Tokyo, and we never had any problems with them.

Didn’t there used to be a good used book store in Umegaoka, off the Chiyoda line?
http://thistokyolife.com thistokyolife.com

Anyone tried Better World Books? They have $4/item international shipping (albeit quite slow) and support literacy causes.
http://www.japaneconomynews.com/ Ken

I would add Kinokuniya and Tower Records in Shibuya to that list.

I spend about half a million yen a year at Amazon, because they can get me titles I want and need, right to my door. The Blue Parrot is good, if not excellent, for buying used books, but I have issues with Good Day Books, and after a few bad experiences have decided not to give them my money.

Chris pointed out Yaesu Book Center by Tokyo Station, and I also totally recommend it. It’s unfortunate that I almost never have a chance to get to that area, because that’s a good shop.

ST: I think that eventually electronic book readers will make an impact in the market, especially once they can download daily papers and magazines. I agree with you that the price of the Kindle is absurd. But, we have to remember that the iPod came out with similar pricing and afforded a similar service. Over time, these devices will become more affordable and the firms will depend on downloads and/or purchases for profit, rather than trying to sell hardware. Amazon or Sony needs to set up something like iTunes for this to really work.
http://www.japaneconomynews.com/ Ken

Also, if you’re near Ikebukuro, Junkudo has a decent selection of English books and magazines. Definitely worth checking out.

William

i agree, it’s definitely worth checking, Junkudo has a decent collection of english books and some learning japanese writing for foreigners.

liz

The Book Off in Shirokanedai in Tokyo sells a large selection of new and used English books for cheap, including a large selection of 200 yen paperbacks. It also has a nice little cafe area. They import the books from their shops in America and around Japan and sell them in Shirokanedai. The Book Off is near the station.

PDF file about it: http://www.bookoff.co.jp/news/release/20080808/pdf/20080808_shirokane_eigo.pdf
Jules

I highly recommend Infinity Books Japan online English books – deliver right to the door.
http://www.mutantfrog.com Joe Jones

bookfinder.com is really good for more obscure titles. I went on to search for a rather obscure American legal textbook, and found a new copy for sale by a shop in Jinbocho for less than list price in the US. Had it delivered to my office by takkyubin for 5,000 yen when Amazon wanted $85 and $10 for shipping.
http://ourmaninabiko.blogspot.com/ Our Man in Abiko

As a former internet bookdealer, may Our Man recommend going to Abebooks.com – it works like Amazon but represents thousands of second-hand, rare booksellers all over the world. Nice post, glad to see so many comments.
ST

In response to Ken: Like you, I spend quite a bit of money at Amazon simply because it has the titles I’m looking for. I’ve had good service so far, too. I agree with you on the Kindle. It will probably become cheaper and improve over time. Listening to music and reading are two very different experiences, though. If you’re like me and spend your day in front of a computer screen, staring at another screen to read a book is not my idea of fun. I have enough electronic gadgets in my life already, I don’t need any more.

hazycake

This is just hearsay, but I heard that the Kindle etc. are less like computer screens and more like an “electronic paper” that doesn’t hurt your eyes.

I won’t buy it now, but I hope it catches on so that it is more affordable. The idea of having all my books in a small container is really great, but like you said, all these electronics gadgets are starting to clutter…

epo

The Book Depository is cheaper than Amazon (they even include links to Amazon’s site for you to check), and, most important, they ship free worldwide, so you don’t have to wait to have several books to order. Their store is in the UK, and prices are shown in pounds, dollars or euros.

The Book Depository

ozdazza

I second the recommendation for The Book Depository. With free international shipping, it works out even cheaper than Amazon Japan. If you are after out of print and second hand (and even new) books at cheap prices, I would also recommend using http://www.bookfinder.com

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Mike Miller

Some great links to booksellers in Japan. Of course, Amazon.jp is the biggest fish in the pond. I’ve used them before, and have no complaints with their service. For those of you in Nagoya, I’d recommend checking out Mondo Books (AKA The Mondo Lounge). It’s an English bookstore run by a collective of foreigners and Japanese, and they have a fair number of titles in stock. http://mondolounge.jp – http://www.mondo-books.com . There is also a Book Off in the Melsa building in downtown Sakae that has a small selection of used books in English.

Buying English books in Japan

1. Order books online from Amazon.co.jp

2. Find a store that specializes in foreign books

3. Order books online from foreign websites (in bulk)

4. Get an e-book reader

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