browsing kinokuniya
……………….
well … as it turns out, the spot i visited at lunch yesterday has little to do with food (shocking, i know).
kinokuniya is a huge japanese (bilingual) bookstore in midtown, and i discovered it a few months ago. it is a japanophile’s dream. there isn’t much to love in midtown manhattan on a weekday, but this is a place i go to every once in a while to recharge and spend an hour browsing the amazing selection of books and magazines. they have a wonderful collection of various books about japanese and world culture, food, architecture, art, photography, design, fashion, tattoos … everything. my favorite sections are the photography and architecture/design sections. the books they stock are unique, and i could spend hours flipping through them. my lunch hour never seems to be enough time.
pictured above is ku:nel magazine, one of my favorites because of the inspiring photographs it always contains (no, i can’t read japanese). the most recent issue, which i picked up at kinokuniya recently, has been very inspiring to me lately — look at those photographs! just amazing. my little rooftop garden pales in comparison to some of the things pictured here.
kinokuniya is definitely worth a visit if you are in NYC (the second floor is the place to go for a small cafe, which i haven’t tried yet, and the best book selection).
and speaking of books, journal of plants will be a perfect companion to the ku:nel photos above. i can’t wait to see it in person.
enjoy your day.
i love ku:nel. i visited that bookshop while in manhattan once and had that “i want one of everything” feeling. good stuff and i’m sure it made for an inspiring lunch hour.
I am smitten with the cover of that issue; it’s grace and simplicity. Thanks for this glimpse!
actually heather, the cover reminds me of your photos. i had that same feeling in the japanese bookstore in sfo. i like the darkness in all these images.
one thing london lacks is a book shop like kinokuniya.
i might start a petition…
Oh, I love that store. I try to visit whenever I’m in NY.
The fifth photo down: I want to go to there.
thanks for sharing these! you may have even inspired me to go into midtown manhattan… on a cooler day.
‘kinokuniya’ sounds like a brilliant bookshop.
thanks for posting this :)
Thanks! I work in midtown and I am always looking for a place to escape to…..
(Love your blog, your photos make me smile.)
i don’t speak japanese either, but go to kinokuniya quite a bit for craft/design books that are wonderful inspirational resources for photography. i’ll have to look for that magazine, it looks great. there’s also another store called asahiya near grand central (52 Vanderbilt Ave). it’s much smaller, though.
Well, now I know where I’m going this weekend.
oh yes, i adore that bookstore! their craft section is also amazing- i wish i were able to read their patters/instructions!
how lucky you are. i don’t think there’s anything of the kind in berlin. i’ll have to check though. that magazine is wonderful.
ooh how beautiful!
ah yes!! this issue of ku:nel looks great but i haven’t had a proper look yet being in tokyo. you are so ahead you know! ;)
Hello Brian,
I found your blog on echo de gars in France and I had a nice walk in your world. See you soon.
Christian
that issue looks so good.
The Ku:nel magazine looks amazing, I just got mine in amazon jp, I had to have one. Specially now I’m moving houses so I need new ideias, and new stuff.
Thanks for the tip.
I lovvvvveeeeeee kinokuniya! especially the japanese book section :) not that I can understand anything but they are beautiful to look at :)