5 awesome bookstores in Tokyo. In addition, all of these bookstores have something else to offer besides a large selection of Japanese books, whether that be English language press, a tasty cafe, an outside terrace, or an impressive children’s area.

For me, one of my “literary heroes” in this regard is Haruki Murakami. However, such is the humility of this genius, Murakami does not let such notions get to him. In fact he actually seems quite uncomfortable with the whole thing.

It amazed me how words written thousands of years ago by people long dead could come to shape our modern world on such a fundamental level. It also stunned me that so few of my fellow students seemed interested in what these ancient texts had to offer.

Japan has a reading culture. People read silently in cafes, on trains, in front of the book rack of convenient stores. And they read all sorts of things too: novels, manga, magazines, etc. However, books aren’t necessarily cheap, and this is where the 2nd Hand Book Stores come to the rescue!

Recommended reads for this Summer. Snuggle up in bed with any one of these on a weekend where rain plays a spoilsport and it is too hot to go out and travel. Haruki Murakami will save the day!

Every autumn, the booksellers of Kanda’s Jimbocho district host a massive book sale. Rack after rack of books are set up outside Jimbocho’s bookstores to entice dedicated bibliophiles and passers by to peruse their shelves. In other words, for book lovers, for two weeks, Jimbocho is something like Paradise.

When people think of contemporary writers from Japan everyone`s mind turn to one man - Haruki Murakami. Haruki`s influence throughout the literary world is far-reaching.