Japanese at a Bookstore: Finding, Ordering and Covering Books

Formats you will see on the shelves

Japanese bookstores sort books by physical format as much as by subject, and each format has its own name. Bunko are small, affordable paperbacks, often reprints of novels. Shinsho are slightly taller, slim paperbacks, usually non-fiction on a single topic. Tankōbon is the word for a standalone book, often a hardback or larger paperback, and it is also used for collected manga volumes.

Knowing these words helps you understand where a clerk sends you. A novel you want may sit in the bunko section rather than in fiction, because it has been reissued as a paperback.

Shelves by genre

Beyond format, larger stores are laid out by genre, with hanging signs above each aisle. Some of these words are useful far outside the bookshop, since you will see them on streaming services and library signs too.

Picture books and children's books are some of the best early reading material for a learner, because the language is simple and any kanji usually come with furigana, or the text is written entirely in kana.

Asking staff to find a book

If you cannot find a title, go to the counter or catch a member of staff. Many large stores also have a search terminal, kensakuki, where you can type a title or author and print a slip showing the shelf. If the terminal is only in Japanese, showing the title on your phone to a clerk is often quicker.

Give the title, the author if you know it, and the publisher if it matters. Clerks will usually check the system and either take you to the shelf or tell you it is out of stock.

Ordering a book in: toriyose

When a book is not on the shelf, most bookstores can order it for you. This is called toriyose, from toru, to take, and yoseru, to bring close. The clerk will usually confirm the details, ask for your name and phone number, and tell you roughly how long it will take. Timing depends on the book and the distributor, so ask rather than assume.

When the book arrives, the store usually calls or texts you, and you pick it up and pay at the counter. Some stores ask for payment in advance for special orders, especially for foreign or expensive books.

Torioki, holding a copy for you, is different from toriyose. Use torioki when the book is in the store but you cannot buy it right now, such as a new release you want kept at the counter.

The book cover question at the till

At the till, the clerk will very often ask whether you want a cover. This is a free paper wrapper, folded neatly around the book, often printed with the store's logo. It protects the book and hides the title from people around you on the train, which is exactly why many readers like it.

Covers are usually offered for bunko and tankōbon, and sometimes for manga. Magazines and large books generally do not get one. You may also be asked whether you want a bag, and in many stores bags are charged for.

Nobody will think it odd if you decline. Plenty of people prefer to see the actual cover, and some carry their own cloth book cover instead.

Manga, shrink-wrap and sample copies

New manga in many stores is sealed in clear plastic, called shurinku, short for shrink-wrap. The seal keeps copies in good condition and stops shoppers reading a whole volume at the shelf. Some shops put out sample copies or unsealed first volumes marked tameshiyomi, try reading, so you can check the art and difficulty.

Some manga for younger readers includes furigana on every kanji, which makes it far more readable for learners. Ask for furigana-tsuki, with furigana, if that is what you need. Staff may not know every title, but they can often point you to the shōnen and shōjo shelves, where furigana is common.

Used bookstores, furuhon'ya, are a cheaper way to buy manga in bulk, and many sell volumes in sets and buy books back from customers.

Asking to remove the plastic is usually answered with a polite no in new-book stores. Asking about a sample copy gets you further.

Finding Japanese textbooks and graded readers

This is where many learners get lost. Books for studying Japanese as a foreign language are not shelved with Japanese literature or school study guides. Look in the language section, gogaku, and within it for a corner labelled Nihongo kyōzai or Nihongo gakushū. Large stores near major stations often have a well-stocked shelf including textbooks, JLPT practice books and kanji workbooks.

Graded readers, books written in simplified Japanese at fixed levels, are usually in the same corner. They are one of the best ways to build a reading habit, and our guide to graded readers explains how to choose a level and use them. If you cannot see them, ask for tadoku, extensive reading, which is the word publishers and teachers use for this kind of material.

If the store has nothing for learners, children's books and picture books are a good next stop, and the clerk in the children's section can often recommend titles by age.