Rafael Caetano wrote:

> I'm a bit surprised by Mike's mention of Book-off; I thought it was just
> for manga and J-pop CDs

It's the place to go for fairly recently-published secondhand books in good
condition. They do check the publishing details, though, and pass
collectible first editions to specialist dealers. The great thing about what
Mike call's "the typical mom-and-pop used bookstore" is that they very often
*don't* do this, and with a bit of rummaging I can find real bargains.

, but then I can't read Japanese and didn't look
> for Japanese books there anyway...
>
> I've been to 2 very good, organized used bookstores in Jimbocho. Lots of
> books in English.  They weren't very cheap, though

Almost all the stores in Jimbocho are very highly-priced. Apart from one or
two stores - mainly the ones dealing in first editions in Japanese - I've
pretty much stopped going there. Kitazawa, for example, has some fine
antiquarian and collectible books in English, but they tend to be priced
right at the very top of the market.

I find the bookshops in Waseda Doori, or dotted around Koenji, Kichijoji and
other stations along the Chuo line, are generally better for
bargain-hunting.

My big peeve about Japanese secondhand bookshops in general is that the
manga - and sometimes other books - are often wrapped in sealed cellophane
bags so you can't actually see what you're buying. That's OK for people
buying reading matter, I suppose, but from a collecting point of view it's
the death-knell. If you can't see the publication details you don't know
whether you're buying a collectible first edition or a later reprint. Of
course, you can always ask the shopkeeper if it's OK to unseal the bag and
remove the book; in my experience, they usually say yes - but not always! -
but it's obviously a hassle (both for the shopkeeper and for the prospective
customer) and it often just puts me off buying from places that do that.
Book-Off don't do that, but they've generally siphoned off anything
collectible before putting stuff up on the shelves. Sometimes you just can't
win!

Well, but it's a half-hearted complaint, at best. In general, Japan's a
great place for books, from my point of view, and a little gripe like that
is more than offset by the fact that people generally look after books very
carefully, and pass them on to secondhand stores in near-perfect condition,
complete with dust jacket, obi (wraparound band) and material laid in by the
publisher.

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com