Jimbocho – Booktown
Is it really the coolest neighbourhood in the world? Maybe.
I didn't get to Jimbocho on my last visit to town, but I had it on my list for this one. A slightly grey slightly damp day seemed like a good opportunity to wander down.
Books are everyhere in Jimbocho. You can't walk a block without hitting more than one bookstore. They range from the large and very managed Kitazawa Book Store to smaller locations that could best be described as chaotic quests in the waiting. Shelves extend onto the streets and people browse casually in the unplanned and aimless fashion that makes bookstores a special place. Not sure what you're looking for? Keep looking around you'll find something. It always works.
Jimbocho Nyankodo might be the most famous of the small stores. It's a cat themed bookstore and yes it's true--just about 100% of what's in here is related to cats (there are a few very minor exceptions.) I've a relative who likes cats, so it was an easy decision to stop in and pick up a couple of small things. I could have bought everything.
It's nice to see a culture of reading thriving in a world where it's in a general steady decline. It's especially nice to see in a city which is so tied to technology that you might think books would be forgotten. Is that enough to make Jimbocho the coolest neighbourhood in the world? I might have to head back and poke around a bit more.