#29: Kinokuniya USA
The Shop: Kinokuniya USA
Midtown: 1073 6th Ave
The destination for New York’s Japanese and Japanophiles alike, Kinokuniya is a massive store best browsed over the course of at least two hours. Though a single storefront, each floor of this purveyor of Japanese culture has its own distinct atmosphere and specialty. The top floor is comic central, with shelves on shelves of manga and manga related merch in Japanese and English, each volume pristinely shrink wrapped. Western comics are represented here too, with graphic novels and trades from the finest publishers. The top floor also has a cafe with views of the stately New York Public Library flagship in Bryant park. I’ve killed many an afternoon in this cafe, eavesdropping on other people’s Japanese lessons and sipping on Ito Ens! The middle floor is a Barnes and Noble type affair, with new English language books in a variety of genre plus all kinds of glossy coffee table types. I was drooling over the Taschen art book carousel on this floor! The basement is arguably the most exciting part-- a huge floor of Japanese toys, stationary, art and office supplies, and all kinds of seemingly functional ephemera. This floor also houses a massive selection of Japanese language books and zines. This store was absolutely bustling when I went there on a recent Sunday, with a line out the door. The reason: this store is trending on Tik Tok (I was informed of this by a middle aged dad and his hiply dressed, completely embarrassed 14 year old son in line behind me!) You may have to fight off the crowds to get in, but this store is absolutely worth a trip.
What I got (RIP my paycheck edition):
Haha Volume 1:
I wax poetic about W. Maxwell Prince and Image comics a ton on this blog so I’ll keep this brief: if you like scary stuff and inventive storytelling, read this dude.
Assassination Classroom Volume 1:
Had to get my manga on at Kinokuniya! I’ve been curious to check out this title about a group of teens tasked with killing their teacher in order to graduate. I’m not bringing this one to work with me… I do not need to give my students any ideas.
Tokyo Ghoul Volume 1:
I’m a horror fiend and I’ve been hearing nothing but good stuff about this spooky manga series which apparently has a lot of eating human organs in it. Should be a blast!
Paper Theater Kiki’s Delivery Service:
I bought this DIY paper model as an activity to bond with a student who is a Miyazaki diehard! I’m excited to make this with her.
Sailor Moon Keychain:
90s Sailor Moon eps got me through the pandemic, so I’m excited to pay homage with this cute rubber keychain! I got the Sailor Jupiter wand.
Pentel PG-Metal-350 Mechanical Pencil:
I don’t know anything about mechanical pencils bit this one looks really cool and writes really nice.
Stickyle Akeruno Folding Scissors:
These portable scissors fold up into a small plastic rectangle. As a 3rd grade teaching assistant, I am constantly cutting stuff for worksheets and crafts so this is highly useful to me!
A Shoutout:
Big love to all the folks out there sending me emails about your favorite reads and stores! It warms my heart to hear from y’all. Wanted to shout out some extra special folks for this one: Michon & Elaine Stuart, who have been reading this newsletter from the beginning and joined me on this Kinokuniya trip. Y’all rock!
