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.