Jimbocho

I spent May 28th in Tokyo, on my way back to Kochi from Korea. In the afternoon, I met up with Aya and Kiyo for coffee and karaoke (and shochu, to go with the karaoke--yes! shochu at 2pm!). But before that, I had a few hours to kill. I decided to seek out a mytical Tokyo location...

(no, not the store that sells only things people have lost on the subway, though I'm determined to look for that one next time)

...the book district. The area is called Jimbocho. I forget where I heard about it first--maybe a tourist web page, or maybe a secret meeting of book-lovers on a mysteriously ill-lit streetcorner late at night.

I didn't have much time, so I only walked for a couple of blocks, but on one side of the street, it was ALMOST ALL BOOKSTORES. Imagine the pain--all of those books, but almost nothing I could take home and read! It's for the best, really. I don't need a suitcase full of books (although I certainly do want one).

I actually ended up buying an electronic dictionary. I went into a shop selling stationery, and right inside the door, discounted electronic dictionaries. I had just been into a bookstore, where I found a Japanese-English kanji dictionary--a huge tome worth about $80, which looked like it might take a week or two to learn to use. I also checked out the Japanese kanji dictionaries, and they just looked scary. The electronic dictionaries suddenly looked much more appealing. Plus, mine is pink.

I would have a whole bunch more voyeuristic bookshop photos to show for my book district experience, except that it was raining. Next time in Tokyo, I'll have to go back... perhaps I'll find a bookstore with a good English novel section. And I should really buy some souvenirs...