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By Dominique LANCASTRE
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With more than 7000 followers on Facebook , Pluton-Magazine asked Mona Sumi the store manager of Books Kinokuniya Tokyo to share her view on this special bookshop.
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« Sharing the vision of Kinokuniya’s overseas stores, Books Kinokuniya Tokyo is a branch devoted to carrying English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese books (traditional and simplified characters).
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We hope to promote mutual understanding between cultures through books.
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The English section is one of the largest in Japan, from picture books for young children to the latest in fiction, art and design, ELT or academic titles, we have something for everyone.
There is also a wide selection of imported magazines and a comprehensive section of Japanese-language textbooks.
Our store first started in 1995 with 6 floors of Japanese and foreign-language books, with a floor space of more than 3,000 square meters.
While successfully gaining a loyal following of customers, especially for academic and children’s titles, the store decided to let go of 5 floors in 2016, a major factor being expensive rent.
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The remaining floor, about 1,000 sq. meters, was newly opened as Books Kinokuniya Tokyo in August 2016, with a clear goal: to provide one of Japan’s largest selection of English books and other languages in order to serve the international community in Tokyo.
With our range plus helpful staff, we welcome book lovers of all nationalities.
There were 18,000 bookstores in Japan in 2004; it has gone down to 11,000 in 2020.
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The majority of them only carry Japanese books and have Japanese-speaking customers, which is unsurprising in a country where very few speak foreign languages fluently.
But instead of working in this decreasing yet highly competitive market, Books Kinokuniya Tokyo serves a smaller community of local residents with an international background.
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This may not be a massive as the Japanese book buyers, but this unique community has been very loyal and supported us through the pandemic.
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In fact our sales have increased year-on-year and we hope to keep thriving as an oasis for bibliophiles in Tokyo. »
Mona Sumi ( Store Manager Books Kinokuniya Tokyo)
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By Dominique LANCASTRE ( CEO Pluton-Magazine )
Pluton-Magazine/ July 2022/ Paris 16th.
