Here are the top 10% – the most famous/popular/important – of all 295 bookstores (as of 2022) in Kyoto. The list covers bookstore chains, used bookstores, antiques and art bookstores, independent bookstores, and extra 9 unique entities fair enough to be counted among the bests. A complete map of all 29 bookstores and extras is at the end of the article.
Bookstore chains
1. Maruzen Kyoto Honten
Maruzen Kyoto Honten is the largest bookstore in Kyoto, located on the B1 and B2 levels of Kyoto’s iconic upscale shopping mall, BAL. With a total of 35,600 square feet, the bookstore offers a complete range of genres and the most updated intelligence curated for modern Japanese society. The Kyoto section at the bookstore covers comprehensive trends in Kyoto. For those who wish to learn about Kyoto and Japan in English, the English section here would be most useful.
Address: 251 Yamazakicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-8032, Japan | Website
2. Ogaki Shoten Aeon Mall Kyoto Store
Ogaki Shoten is a Kyoto-based bookstore chain. Its largest location, which is the second-largest bookstore in Kyoto, is in Kyoto’s mega shopping mall, Aeon Mall Kyoto. The bookstore offers almost everything for anyone who leads an ordinary life in Kyoto (or any other big city in Japan). The bookstore is probably the best in Kyoto to find Akahon (literally translated, Red Book: SAT drills for universities in Japan, sort of).
Address: 1 Nishikujo Toriiguchicho, Minami Ward, Kyoto, 〒601-8417, Japan | Website
3. Futaba Shobo Kyoto Station Hachijoguchi Store
Futaba Shobo Kyoto Station Hachijoguchi Store is a small bookstore chain located in the station’s touristy shopping mall, Kintetsu Mall Miyakomichi. It’s probably the first proper bookstore you will encounter when visiting Kyoto by the Japanese bullet train, Shinkansen. The bookstore seems to meet demands of local Japanese commuters and students and travelers from outside. Novels and magazines about Kyoto displayed at the entrance will offer a crash course to grasp Kyoto’s nowness except for the background music; Family Affair by Mary J. Blige was playing when I visited.
Address: 31-1 Higashishiokoji Kamadonocho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒600-8215, Japan | Twitter
4. Ogaki Shoten Kyoto Main Store
It’s not a dancery; Kyoto-based Ogaki Shoten’s flagship store is on the ground floor of an upscale shopping mall, Suina Muromachi (above is Pokémon Center Kyoto). The contemporary and most updated selection of books for aspiring Japanese business persons and young professionals in Japan, is how it looks. It’s the type of bookstore where you find Grit, Factfulness, and other mind-blowing best-selling business books alongside books about edgy trends in Kyoto, in Japanese. Don’t miss the snack section for inventive Japanese treats.
Address: 78 Kankobokocho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒600-8009, Japan | Website
5. Ogaki Shoten Horikawa New Culture Bulding Store
Yet another Ogaki Shoten. But it’s probably the edgiest of all among its locations. The bookstore is located on the ground floor of Kyoto’s uber-contemporary shopping mall, Horikawa New Culture Building. The selection of books here is similar to the aforementioned Ogaki Shoten Aeon Mall Kyoto Store (#2) but more localized and focused on an upcoming hip neighborhood, Nishijin which almost includes this building.
Address: 287 Saikachicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒602-8242, Japan | Website
6. Tsutaya Shoten Kyoto Okazaki Store
Tsutaya Shoten Kyoto Okazaki Store is in Kyoto’s mecca of art, Okazaki. When you’re in the neighborhood, it’s near-impossible to ignore this bookstore, located on the ground floor of Kyoto’s architectural landmark, ROHM Theatre Kyoto (and well, thanks to the Starbucks on the same floor). The bookstore is the perfect place to catch up with Japan’s national trends and local tips to get around in Kyoto. A ¥10,780/$83 Japanese wallet à la Yayoi Kusama might be your biggest takeaway along with other high-quality Japanese accessories from the souvenir section.
Address: 13 Okazaki Saishojicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-8342, Japan | Website
Used bookstores
7. Bookoff Super Bazaar Fushimi Store
Bookoff is Japan’s largest used bookstore chain. “Bookoff Super Bazaar” is an upgraded version of its bookstore that functions as a giant thrift shop with vast rows of bookshelves. Bookoff Super Bazaar Fushimi Store, the first of its kind in Kyoto, is probably the only bookstore where you can even expect decent used surfboards in Kyoto. Books here are either basic or extreme because, I assume, A: it is the place where overpopulated (thus undeniably popular) books have wound up and B: these are the books someone somehow had to deal with on behalf of their owner, not knowing the value of them.
Address: 1 Yokooji Shibafu, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 〒612-8246, Japan | Website
8. Furuhon Ichiba Nishijin Store
Furuhon Ichiba is a used bookstore chain but not as major as Bookoff. Furuhon Ichiba Nishijin Store has a local Japanese bookstore vibe that is somewhat “Heisei Retro” (Heisei is the Japanese era between 1989 and 2019). Books that ended up here are what has permeated Japanese society. Complete sets of Japan’s top-selling mangas (Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, etc) are to grab, like box set DVDs.
Address: 226-2 Yakushicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒602-8442, Japan | Website
9. Machiya Furuhon Hannoki
Machiya Furuhon Hannoki is a tiny, off-beat used bookstore in a more than 100-year-old Japanese traditional machiya-townhouse. The selection of books is eclectic, and so are its business hours. Check the website before you go.
Address: 225 Hozuicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒602-8357, Japan | Website
10. Sekai Bunko
Sekai Bunko is more of a private school organized by Japanese art director Suzunari Koga. The school offers his book collections and weekend classes which take place online in the Covid era (purchase of an annual membership is needed to join the classes). The business hours as a bookstore are notified on Twitter.
Address: 19 Murasakino Higashifunaokacho, Kita Ward, Kyoto, 〒603-8228, Japan | Website
Antiques and Art
11. Chikuhoro Shobo
Founded in 1751, the legendary Chikuhoro Shobo is technically a used bookstore for Japanese art lovers. The bookstore primarily offers books about Japanese art as well as a collection of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. The discreet section (or more like a temporary stack) of books about titillating Japanese shunga art is worth studying.
Address: 511 Shimohonnojimaecho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-8091, Japan | Website
12. Akao Shobundo
Located in Kyoto’s antique mecca surrounding Kyoto City Hall, Akao Shobundo’s offerings are similar to those at Chikuhoro Shobo (#11). This bookstore seems more visitor-friendly (not that another one isn’t), showcasing cute Japanese postcards, Japanese accessories, soon-to-be antique retro Disney toys, and more. It can be a great place to seek high-quality Japanese souvenirs.
Address: 97 Enokicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-0931, Japan | Website
13. Yamazaki Shoten
Yamazaki Shoten is a used bookstore, but it’s all about art. The bookstore is among the most important and famous art bookstores in Kyoto. Almost any books about art are organized and stuck in this Japanese “house.” It is the only bookstore (of all in this article) I had to take off my shoes to get in.
Address: 91-18 Okazaki Enshojicho Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-8344, Japan | Website
14. Nagata Bunshodo
Founded circa 1596, Nagata Bunshodo is the oldest bookstore in Kyoto (and in Japan, supposedly). As the mild scent of a Japanese temple in the bookstore suggests, it specializes in offering books about Buddhism. A drop-dead retro billboard on a bookshelf says “sutras on cassette available.” Just to be clear, the bookstore is technically a used bookstore (books about Christianity and Islam are also available).
Address: 315 Yamakawacho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒600-8342, Japan
Independent bookstores
15. Keibunsha Ichijoji Store
Keibunsha Ichijoji Store is the most famous independent bookstore in Kyoto (and perhaps in the world, thanks to Best bookshops on The Guardian). The bookstore has a refined, educational, and philosophical vibe that is sort of like where Asian zen and Scandinavian minimalism meet, in the background music of piano with mewing seagulls.
If the world was divided into a horrendous dichotomy between “die happy” vs “transcend struggling,” this bookstore would probably take the…I can’t tell. Say, if the bookstore was a song, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, it might go cruising and entertaining and probably forget the car for good. “Where’s The Car” by Tracy Chapman, how goes it?
If vocabularies like SDGs and slow living (“slow life” in Japanese) or any other well-tailored creative term rings your bell, you will live here. The bookstore’s cozy art gallery and accessory section are also worth checking.
Address: 10 Ichijoji Haraitonocho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-8184, Japan | Website
16. Hohohoza Jodoji Store
“Hohohoza Jodoji Store is a souvenir shop with a fair amount of books,” that’s how this store puts it. But once you walk into the store, its fresh smell of papers will tell it’s a bookstore. Hohohoza Jodoji Store is like an informal version of legendary Keibunsha Ichijoji Store (#15). You will find Japanese mangas, books about philosophy, religion, and more, and handmade kooky toys and accessories.
Address: 71 Jodoji Banbacho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-8412, Japan | Twitter
17. Laetitia Shobo
Local, cozy, and pacifist. The bookstore has a full-fledged “indie” mood. The selection of books here speaks about what it takes to be liberal in Japan (books about Ukraine and LGBTQ were on the same shelf). The bookstore offers local Japanese zines and seems to function as a hub for paper book lovers. On a wall inside was the (presumably permanent) exhibition about Kyoto’s local sento-bathhouses. A hidden gem museum, that it was.
Address: 551 Kawaracho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-0827, Japan | Website
18. Seikosha
Seikosha has a statement; challenge Japan’s book industry and be a better business model as a bookstore. In other words, Seikosha is a bookstore version of a third-wave coffee bar. It’s probably the most obvious third-wave-bookstore in Kyoto. The selection and vibe of the bookstore are sort of like the mixture of aforementioned Keibunsha Ichijoji Store (#15) and Laetitia Shobo (#17), which could explain the pedigree of the owner who used to be the manager at Keibunsha Ichijoji Store.
Address: 437 Tawarayacho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒602-0871, Japan | Website
19. Cava Books
Cava Books is a bookstore in an independent movie theater, Demachiza, located on Kyoto’s iconic shopping street, Demachi Masugata Shotengai. The bookstore is focused on books about film, screenwriting, and art. Hand-crafted hearty meals and drinks are also on offer, at the bar counter.
Address: 133 Miyoshicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒602-0823, Japan | Website
20. Merry-go-round Kyoto
Merry-go-round Kyoto is a children’s bookstore on the 5th floor of Kyoto’s Art Déco landmark, Kotobuki Building. The bookstore does sell children’s books, but it seems to try to reach out to wise parents (more for her than him and them).
By the way, the discreet orientation of the bookstore queerly reminds me of Carrie Bradshaw from SATC (I’m in an Art Déco building. Why not?) trying to sell her idea of writing a children’s book, Magic Cigarettes, in Season 1 Episode 8: Three’s a Crowd.
Anyway, back to Kyoto City, Merry-go-round Kyoto is, as nowadays cool shops in Japan often look to be, more Scandinavian than Japanese and American. The bookstore also offers edgy, obviously high-quality and seemingly hand-crafted edible products such as bags of exotic spices, Vietnamese salt, Eurocentric herbaceous salt, etc. Edibles on team 420 haven’t seem to arrive, just yet.
Address: 251-2 Ichinocho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒600-8018, Japan | Website
Libraries and beyond
21. Kyoto Prefectural Library
It’s one of the most beautiful public libraries in Kyoto. Founded in 1873 as Kyoto’s first public library, after moving its location several times, it’s settled here in Okazaki since 1909. Its stunning architecture by Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession influenced Goichi Takeda is a great example of what is called “Retro” and “Meiji-Modern” in Japan. If you were to study anything about Kyoto, this library would be your school. It’s open to everyone for free.
Address: 9 Okazaki Seishojicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-8343, Japan | Website
22. Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives
It’s a two-story, far-flung academic facility for those who desire to sit and study in possibly the cleanest condition for a public place in Kyoto. Some 180,000 books about Kyoto were transferred from Kyoto Prefectural Library (#21). It’s open to everyone for free.
Address: 1−29 Shimogamo Hangicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-0823, Japan | Website
23. The Rissei Library
The Rissei Library is a tiny, contemporary library at one of Kyoto’s most popular outdoor hangout spots, Rissei Garden Hulic Kyoto. The library offers a well-curated selection of books about Kyoto food, Kyoto travel, Kyoto University, and more. Don’t have to hesitate to walk in. It’s free.
Address: 310-2 Bizenjimacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-8023, Japan | Website
24. Kyoto Food Culture Museum: Ajiwaikan
Kyoto Food Culture Museum: Ajiwaikan is the best place to input comprehensive knowledge about Kyoto’s food culture and history. Since Kyoto was the capital of Japan (794 – 1869), the museum’s exhibitions simultaneously cover the basics of Japanese food too. If you were a chef to cook Japanese food, the books here would look the world’s best selection (or assignment books) to learn both Japanese food and Kyoto food. The museum is open for free.
Address: 130 Chudojiminamimachi, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒600-8813, Japan | Website
25. Endo Shoten
Endo Shoten, literally translated as “Endo Bookstore” (Endo is a Japanese family name), is a Japanese izakaya restaurant where it used to be a bookstore. It’s a good old, mom-and-pop (actually pop-and-pop, not that it explains sexual orientation) establishment that still offers books well-curated for those who are north of quinquagenarians, as well as authentic Japanese comfort foods.
Address: 33 Higashikujo Kitakarasumacho, Minami Ward, Kyoto, 〒601-8017, Japan
26. Cafe Bibliotic Hello!
It’s probably the most famous and popular bookstore cafe (“book cafe” or “dokusho cafe” in Japanese) in Kyoto. To make it clear, it is a cafe with an abundance of books. The eye-catching floor-to-ceiling bookshelf offers books about art, tea, and architecture, as well as rare books and magazines such as a reprint of the first issue of Weekly Shonen Jump (the “birth-platform” of One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, and more legends) originally published in 1968.
Address: 650 Seimeicho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-0951, Kyoto | Website
27 . Village Vanguard Shinkyogoku Store
Village Vanguard is a national variety shop chain whose concept is “a bookstore where you can play around” as the company puts it. Named after an American jazz club, Village Vanguard, in New York City, the Japanese Village Vanguard indeed offers some American vibes. With an audible melting pot of background music featuring the uptempo-remix playlist of Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, and Psy, the store offers instagrammable outfits and accessories, and – of course – books that read as what it means to be trends among nowadays adolescents in Japan.
Address: 531-2 Takoyakushisagaru Higashigawacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒604-8046, Japan | Website
28. Nobunaga Shoten Shijo Kawaramachi Store
If Village Vanguard is a chain for adolescents, Nobunaga Shoten is a chain for adults. Nobunaga Shoten Shijo Kawaramachi Store is a five-story variety store offering wide-ranging products from mangas and novels to accessories and toys. It’s the only avowedly LGBTQ-friendly bookstore with a rainbow flag sticker on the entrance door.
FYI: “Shoten/書店” and “shobo/書房” both mean bookstore.
Address: 571 Teramachidori Ayanokojisagaru Nakanocho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒600-8032, Japan | Twitter
29. Spring Book Market at Miyako Messe
Last but not least (literally not), Spring Book Market at Miyako Messe is one of the largest book markets in Japan. More than 500,000 used books from nearly 40 used bookstores across the Kansai region (Kyoto and adjacent prefectures) are compiled at Miyako Messe in Okazaki annually on the first week of May. This is a free event.
Address: 9-1 Okazaki Seishojicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 〒606-8343, Japan | Website
