Jimbocho Book Town

Jimbocho became a book district because of the universities: several were founded around here in the late nineteenth century, bookshops opened to supply them, and the concentration held even after fires and the war. Around 130 secondhand and antiquarian shops remain, which is thought to be the densest such concentration anywhere. The detail people notice once told is the orientation - the main street runs east to west and most shops are on the north side facing south, but their shopfronts and outdoor stalls are shaded by awnings and the buildings are arranged so that direct sun does not fall on the stock, because sunlight destroys paper. Shops specialise sharply: one does only cinema, one only architecture, one only ukiyo-e, one only foreign-language first editions. Curry restaurants and old coffee houses fill the gaps. A large book festival takes over the street in late October.

History

The district is probably named after a member of the Jinbō family, possibly Nagaharu Jinbō, who lived here at the end of the 17th century. In the late 19th century schools of foreign studies opened in the area, among them the Bansho Shirabesho and the Tokyo School of Foreign Languages, and the many bookshops that followed made it a book town (Wikipedia, Kanda-Jinbōchō).

What to look for

• About 130 bookshops - the densest concentration of secondhand dealers anywhere.
• Sun-shielded fronts - stalls and shopfronts arranged so direct light never hits paper.
• Sharp specialisation - shops dealing only in cinema, architecture, prints or first editions.
• The October festival - a street-wide book fair in late autumn.

When to go

Late October for the festival; all year otherwise. Half a day.

Before you go

Most stock is in Japanese - foreign-language material is limited to a few shops. Many shops close on Sundays. Prices for rare material are high and haggling is not the custom. Shops are small and crowded with stock.

Nearby

Akihabara is north-east; the Imperial Palace gardens are south.

Key facts