Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/answers/rec/books/stores/asian

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From: [e-mail] (evelyn.c.leeper)
Subject: Bookstores in Various Asian Cities List (rec.arts.books)
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Archive-name: books/stores/asian

Last change:
Mon Mar 14 11:05:32 EST 1994

Additions:
    Bombay, India (several)
    Tokyo, Japan (several)
    Taipei, Taiwan/Republic of China
Changes:
    Tokyo, Japan (several--phone number, spellings, etc.)

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============================================================================
Cities include (listed basically west to east, north to south by country,
alphabetically within country, but associated areas and language groups are
listed together; if anyone has a better ordering, let me know):

Jerusalem, Israel
Tel Aviv, Israel
Bangalore, India
Bombay, India
Delhi, India
Singapore
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Nagoya, Japan
Osaka, Japan
Tokyo, Japan
Taipei, Taiwan/Republic of China

[Note 1: I collected these comments from a variety of people.  I personally
have no knowledge of many of these places and take no responsibility if you
buy a book you don't enjoy. :-)   Phone numbers and precise addresses can be
gotten by calling directory assistance for the appropriate city.  Call ahead
for precise hours, as even when I list them they are subject to change.]

[Note 2: If you can add information for any of these, in particular
addresses when they are missing, please send it to me.]

[Note 3: I am cross-posting this to rec.arts.sf.written, but the bookstores
listed include *all* types of bookstores, so please don't tell me that a
particular store has a limited SF section unless I have specifically claimed
otherwise.  All references to science fiction are abbreviated SF for ease in
electronic searching.]

============================================================================

Jerusalem, Israel:

Steimatzky's (on Ben-Yehuda; on Jaffa Road; on King George Avenue).  *The*
    importer of English-language books for Israel.  Just look for a
    large green sign with "Steimatzky's" written in white in both
    languages. You can't get away from them.  They carry a decent
    selection of Hebrew and English books, although they are *extremely*
    expensive--$8 for a paperback?
Sefer ve-Sefel ("Book and Mug", on one of the tiny side streets near
    Ben-Yehuda; you're going to have to ask a local for directions,
    since it's one of the "in, up, and over" stores well off the
    street).  One of the best places to go.  A used/new bookstore-cum-
    cafe. They have a large selection of Judaica in both English and
    Hebrew, and a *huge* selection of fiction--novels, mystery, romance,
    and a SF section to shame many stores in the U.S.  Their prices are
    about the same as those in American used-book stores.

"Jerusalem is filled with small bookstores in every language, for every
price range and taste in reading.  I was a dusty and exhausted archaeology
sla--I mean, *volunteer*--so I hit most of the used-paperback stores.  I
got most of my directions from a friend, but I found out later that any good
guidebook will have a list of bookstores with directions, or at least
addresses--usually hidden and not indexed, but it's there."

============================================================================

Tel Aviv, Israel:

Dyonun Bookstore (Tel-Aviv University).

============================================================================

Bangalore, India:

Gangaram's (MG Road).  "One of the biggest book shops that I have seen in
    India.  Quite like a western departmental store."
New Book Shop (?) (behind MG Road).  "A very good book shop.  I found this
    to have a good number of books, but it was a bit disorganized."

============================================================================

Bombay, India:

The Computer Book Shop (the Fort Road joining VT station to Flora Fountain).
    Has the most comprehensive selection of computer-related books.
Smokers Corner (a block from the Strand Bookstall).  Running since the 1940s
    or early 1950s, this is another of Bombay's institutions.  As well as
    being a bookstore, it also houses a small library....  This store
    offers the best deals for new books.  For instance on a lucky day,
    one could get an original unused/sealed copy of LABYRINTHS by Borges
    for Rs.25 (about US$0.75).
Strand Bookstall (about two blocks from the Computer Book Shop).  The most
    famous bookstore in Bombay.  It offers an impressive inventory of
    books.  Though small in size by American standards, the owners
    promise they can order any book that is available.  The store is
    constantly flooded by book enthusiasts and sometimes "bumping"
    becomes necessary. :-)
? (down the road towards Flora Fountain).  It is the "most" famous book
    shop in that area of Bombay.  Carries all the best sellers and
    general fiction/non-fiction books.

"By far the most frequented book location is the street aound Flora Fountain.
This is a stretch of about 2 kilometers on which street vendors have hawked
books (for the past twenty or thrity years).  Approx 100,000-200,000 books are
up for grabs everyday.  About 80% of the books are used (thousands of books
are sold/bought by these vendors).  Books of all types, fiction, non-fiction,
technical and non-technical books are available.  Any self-respecting
Bombaywallah would have bought at least one book from these vendors at least
once."

"This just covers a small section of south Bombay.  If I cover all the
bookstores in Greater Bombay itself (not in the outskirts/suburbs), I would
require at least two or three hours (not counting the typing :-) ).  I
could still cover the Lamingtoin Road area (and the Matunga area) which has
perhaps the finest collection of bookstores, selling technical books....  I
should mention, however, that the favourite haunt of book maniacs would be
the thousands(!!!!!!!!) of street vendors/stalls well littered all around
Bombay.  It is at these book"stores" that one can get the best
bargains/choice and the joy of finding a rare book that one has been
searching, for a throwaway price not to mention the atmosphere where one
can chat with other "hunters" whilst browsing through the books!  At one of
such vendors I picked up an original copy of VENUS IN FURS by Leopold von
Sacher-Masoch for a mere Rs.5 (about USD$0.16)!"

============================================================================

Delhi, India:

The Book Shop (in Khan Market).
The Bookworm (B-29 Connaught Place, 3322260).  Biggest collection of
    English-language paperbacks I saw in New Delhi.  Claimed to have
    Hindi books upstairs but I didn't see any.  "I strongly second the
    recommendation.  Mr. Anil Arora (the owner of the shop) is a very
    nice and helpful person. He is one of the few guys who has the
    titles in his computer's database.  Also has a SF section.  And yes,
    some Hindi books do exist upstairs.  The bargain sale price of
    hard-backs and classics is fantastic.  A good selection of Penguins
    and Pelicans too."
Galgotias (B-Block of Connaught Place). Good for technical books and general
    reading/fiction.  They are close to the Bookworm and next door to
    another bookstore (Capital Book Shop?).
Metropolitan Book Company (1 Nataji Subash Marg Darya Gang-2, 327-1661).
    Claims to be the largest bookstore in Delhi.  In the Old Delhi area.
Sehgals (in the South Extension market).
Teksons (in the South Extension market).

There are two other book shops on Janpath (close to Connaught Place). You
get bargain prices in the book shop that is close to the Indian Oil Bhawan.

"As with the cities above, there is at least one major bookshop in the
downtown area of any big city.  A rambling walk in the down-town area
is sure to turn it up.  Books are comparatively cheaper in India. The prices
in Germany are really atrocious. DM 20,- for a paper-back in English !!"
(They're also cheaper in India than in either the United States or Britain,
even for British books.  There is a shop that sells books at the airport,
and it's not a bad way to get rid of those final rupees.)

============================================================================

Singapore:

Book World (Boat Quay).  Great selection of German and French books.
Campus Bookstores (National University of Singapore).  Best technical
    bookstores.  "Theoretically, you can get any book you want in
    Singapore if you are willing to order and wait for a few weeks for
    it to arrive, and the price will more expensive than buying in US
    if they have to order from US.  However, some publishers do have
    local student editions (mostly paperback) that is significantly
    cheaper than you can get in US.  Don't expect to find much (if any)
    Springer Verlag books there; McGraw-Hill and Addison-Wesley have
    larger selection there.  I am not too sure about World-Scientific."
    "They have some international editions at great prices, but the
    selection is very limited."
Computer Book Centre (Funan Centre).  Excellent selection of computer books.
Kinokuniya.  Like everywhere else in the world, these stores are very good.
    There are four branches.
Popular Bookstore (Bras Basar, near to Raffles City MTR stop).  Near the
    Westin-Stamford Towers.  "The prices were not that competitive
    compared to Hong Kong (or even Sydney!), but it was the largest
    bokstore I came across, and there were other large bookstores in the
    same building.
World Scientific Publisher.  Unfortunately, they don't have a proper
    showroom.  You can go to their warehouse, which is kind of far.
    They sometimes have some books at the campus bookstore.

The two main chains are Times and MPH.  All the Times stores are
typical chain stores, but the MPH at Stamford Rd is probably the best
bookstore in town.

"It's difficult to find good bookstores in Singapore.  Most stores are
chain stores with a limited selection.  The used books stores mostly
carry paperback fiction.  Books tend to be expensive.  The only
redeeming feature is that some books are available in international
editions. In particular, computer books are much cheaper than in the
US.  Bras Basah has lots of stores, some of them used and some of them
with a good Chinese selection."

[Most of this section was contributed by Helmer Aslaksen
<[e-mail]>.]

============================================================================

Seoul, Republic of Korea:

? (basement of the Kyobo building--it's a big red brick building located
    between the Chosun hotel and the US Embassy.  Citibank is housed on
    the upper floors).  "There were a couple of bookstores in the
    basement, and one had a good selection of English Language books--I
    bought Knuth's Vol 1-3 books there."

============================================================================

Nagoya, Japan:

Maruzen (one block south, three blocks west of Sakae Station--entrances on
    Hirokoji-dori and Gofukucho-dori, local phone [phone]).  Department
    store, but two floors of books.  Third floor (second floor British)
    is foreign-language books.

============================================================================

Osaka, Japan:

Asahi Bookstore (Umeda; south of the JR Osaka Station, visible from the
    large pedestrian overpass near the taxi waiting area on the east
    side of the street, across from the Hanshin department store).
    Seven floors.
Kinokuniya Bookstore (Umeda; beneath the Hankyu Railway platform).  One
    (big) floor.

============================================================================

Tokyo, Japan (city code 03, country code +81):

American Pharmacy (1-8-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku 3271-4034).  Has English
    magazines and bestseller/general fiction.
Biburosu (in front of the JR Takadanobaba station, 3200-4531).  English-
    language books.  Open Mon-Sat 10:30-19:30, Sun, hol 11-18:30.
    Closed third Monday of each month.
The BookShelf (1-14-13 Kaitori, Tama-shi, Tokyo, Japan 206, (0423) 38-1005,
    FAX [phone]).  "This one is a book-ordering service that will
    also run used book searches with bookstores in the U.S.  This is the
    place to find out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.  It is operated
    by the same people who used to run the Bookworm.  Staff is excellent
    in either English or Japanese.
Bunseido (Osaki New City, 10605 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku 5460-5421).
Dragon's Egg (3-3-33 Asagaya Minami #302, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan 166;
    seven minutes from JR Asagaya station's South exit, one minute from
    Minami-Asagaya station on the Marunouchi line, near the Suginami
    ward office, just off the Ome Kaido, 3393-3344).  "This used book
    shop, the successor to the Bookworm, is small, well-ordered and
    located up an almost hidden stairwell.  It accepts trade-ins of
    paperbacks only and has a respectable selection of SF.  The
    proprietor will search for titles sent by postcard and mail them to
    you.  It will soon be listed on-line through TWICS, the first
    public-access Internet system in Japan.  It caters to a slightly
    more literary crowd than the Library, but also accepts comic books."
    Open Fri-Tue 11-19.
Furansu (3 minutes from Shinjuku station, 3346-0396).  French-language
    books.  Open Mon-Fri 10-18.
Goethe (in front of the JR Tokyo station, 5/F of Marunouchi Bldg, 3211-8481).
    German-language books.  Open Mon-Fri 9:30-17:30, Sat 9:30-15.
    (But one person says, "I searched for days but I was not able to
    locate it.")
Italia (5 minutes from Jimbouchou subway station, 3262-1656).  Italian,
    Spanish, and Portuguese books.  Open Mon-Fri 9:30-17, Sat 9:30-15.
    Closed first and third Staurdays of each month.
INEA/JENA (5-6-1 Ginza, Chuuou-ku; Ginza (subway), Yuurakucho (JR);
    3571-2980).  English books in general.  Open Mon-Sat 10:30-19:50,
    Sun 12:30-18:45.  Closed holidays.
Itoya (2-7-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku 3561-8311).
Kinokuniya Bookstore (3-17-7 Shinjuku, Shinkjuku-ku; Exit B7 from Shinjuku
    Subway station (Marunouchi Line), 3354-0131).  English and other
    non-Japanese books and periodicals on the 6th floor (5th floor
    British).  Broad selection.  Open 10-19.  Closed on third Wednesday
    of each month.
Kitazawa Bookstore (2-5 Kanda-Jinboucho, Chiyoda-ku; Jinboucho (subway);
    3263-0011, 3263-0017 (rare book section)).  Specializes in
    literature written in English.  Foreign books only, little or no
    Japanese books.  Also has the rare book section in second floor.
Koureishorin (40 meters from west exit of JR Suidoubashi station,
    3262-6801).  Korean-language books.  Open Mon-Fri 9-18, Sat 9-15.
The Library (Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan; near Ogikubo station's South Exit on
    the JR Chou line and subway Marunouchi line, 3391-2164).  "Dave's
    place takes a while to get used to, but it is a good source of used
    paperbacks.  It usually opens around 5 PM and serves very good
    home-made salsa on quesadillas when the cook is working, also serves
    Sapporo beer on tap.  It's a one-room bar/used book store, with a
    crowd of reasonably friendly regulars at the bar. Also has a
    reputation for being a good place for Japanese girls to practice
    their English without getting hit on too heavily.  The book
    selection is a little bit of everything, but has some SF.  Accepts
    trade-ins.  It is located on the third floor over an Indian
    restaurant, down the street from the Royal Host restaurant."  Open
    Tue-Thu 17-00, Fri-Sun 14-00.
Mananteiaru (2 minutes from JR Ichigaya station, 3264-0788).  Spanish-
    language bookstore.  Open Mon 12-18, Tue-Sat 10-18.
Maruzen Bookstore (2-3-10 Nihobashi, Chuuou-ku; Exit ?? from Nihombashi
    Station, opposite Takshimaya on street level, 3272-7211).  Head
    office of the major bookstore chain.  Many branches around Japan.
    Japanese/English books in general.  Largest selection of English
    technical books in Tokyo area.  English and other non-Japanese books
    and periodicals on 2nd floor (1st floor British).  Broad selection.
Mathematica (Yushima 4-1-22, next to Tokyo university Hongo Campus,
    3916-3724).  "You guessed it, this is one of the very few bookstores
    in the world that sells only math books.  The selection is
    fantastic, but the prices are extremely high."
Mekurenburugu (3 minutes from Hibiya subway station, 3591-8666).  German
    language books.  Open Mon-Fri 9:30-18, Sat 9:30-17.
Nisshindo Philosophical Books (2-7, Jinboucho, Kanda, Chiyodaku, Jinboucho
    (subway), 3261-6246, FAX [phone]).  Specializes in philosophy and
    Greek/Roman classics.  Foreign books only, little or no Japanese
    books.
Oumei-sha (3 minutes from west exit of JR Iidabashi station, 3262-7276).
    French-language books.  Open Mon-Fri 9:30-17:50, Sat 9:30-16:30.
Sanchuudou (3 minutes from Kyobashi station of the Ginza line, 3271-1981).
    Korean-language books. Open Mon-Sat 11-19 .
Sanseido (1-1 Kanda-Jinboucho, Chiyoda-ku, 4 minutes from Jimbouchou subway
    station, 3233-3312).  Largest bookstore in Jinboucho bookstore area
    (but only a few English books).  Open Wed-Mon, 10-18.
Takashimaya (2-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku 3211-4111 ext. 5555).
Charles E. Tuttle (Tatoru) (1-3 Kanda Jinbouchou, Chiyoda-ku, 3 minutes from
    Jimbouchou subway station, 3291-7071).  "Publishes many books in
    English about Japan and the Orient and translations of Japanese
    literature.  I haven't been to the store itself, but the titles they
    publish are very good."  Open Mon-Sat 10:30-18.
Wave (Roppongi; Exit ?? from Roppongi Station).  English-language books and
    periodicals on 4th floor (3rd floor British).  Very narrow
    selection, catering mainly to arts related materials--photography,
    music, art.
Wise Owl Books (fourth floor of the Shineido Bookstore, across the square
    from Ikebukuro station's East exit, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, 5391-2960).
    "This shop is a friendly alternative to Kinokuniya for new books,
    periodicals and comics.  It has only one room, but the staff is much
    more helpful and has better English ability.  They seem more on top
    of ordering books too."
Wonderland (1 minute from Jimbouchou subway station, 3233-2507).  English-
    language books.  Open Mon-Sat 10:30-18:30, Sun, hol 10:30-18.
    Closed first and third Mondays of each month.
Yaesu Book Center (2-5-1 Yaesu, Chuuou-ku, Tokyo (JR), Kyoubashi (subway),
    3281-1811).  Japanese/English books in general.  Good selection of
    English technical books.  Open Mon-Sat 10h-19h.
Yosho Biblos/Akasaka (Akasaka Park Building, 5-2-20 Akasaka, Minato-ku
    5573-8821).
Yurindou (Landmark Tower, Yokohama (few minutes from the Sakurakichou
    station)).  English-language books.
Yurinsha (Hongo 5-28-1, next to Tokyo University Hongo Campus, 3814-0275).
    "This is one of the very few bookstores in the world that sells only
    math books. The selection is fantastic, but the prices are extremely
    high."

"Jimbocho (Jimbouchou) to books is Akihabara to electronic gizmos.  Truly a
bookworm's paradise.  The most direct way to get to Jimbouchou is to take
the Shinjuku subway line from the Shinjuku station.  Get off at the
Ochanmizu station if you're taking JR."

"Call the bookstores first to confirm opening hours and to ask for
directions.  Since most of them are specialized in a certain foreign
language, I'd suspect that the store-keepers are fluent that language."

"In Japan apartments are small.  That makes used books very appealling, you
can rotate them through and keep some open space in your rabbit hutch.  I
figure why pay the full Kinokuniya price just to be ignored.  I've heard of
some good stores in Shimokitazawa, but don't know anything definite.  The
Toshima-ku Central Library, near JR Otsuka station, has a few English
periodicals and a very small English book section."

[Most of the section was contributed by Wayne Lui <[e-mail]>
and Steven Fossoy <[e-mail]>.]

============================================================================

Taipei, Taiwan/Republic of China:

Caves Books, Ltd. (103, Chungshan N. Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei 5414754, 5371666).
    Near a university which many foreigners attend.  They sell many
    textbooks, English books about Taiwan/China, and many English
    translations of Chinese books.  Mentioned in the Lonely Planet
    Guide.

============================================================================

Evelyn C. Leeper | [phone] | [e-mail] / [e-mail]