Magazines 雑誌

The bottom floor of Kinokuniya is filled with every kind of genre of magazine imaginable. Entering either through the stairs not far from the main door, or the elevator towards the back, the magazines are within the first line of sight.

January 2016, Fine Boys Edition—Cover, 中島裕翔 (Nakajima Yuuto) Taken from http://www.stanleyintl.co.jp/en/press/4338/

Among these genres are travel, cooking, hobbies, arts & crafts, household decoration, and sewing; however, the most popular magazines with the younger customers tend to be the fashion magazines. Each fashion magazine is catered towards a different audience so the magazines appeal to customers even past their teens and 20s.

• For men, the most popular ones are Men’s Joker, featuring casual clothing with models around 20-30 years old, Fine Boys,  offering the college student ‘clean but affordable’ look and at times is known to feature actors from Johnny’s Talent Agency, and Men’s Non-no, showcasing a parade of suits, professional and high-end fashion.
• For women, there has been an intrigue with Harajuku fashion, especially among foreigners. Magazines such as Zipper and Kera are especially popular and known to feature Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a famous J-pop singer. More casual styles for ages 20-30 come from magazines such as RUDI or mina.
• For dogs, yes…for your dog. Kinokuniya’s collection of fashion magazines does not exclude pets, and いぬのファッション, literally translating to ‘dog’s fashion’ is meant for your dog to remain in style all year round.

FUN FACT—A lot of manga that are sold as books in consolidated volumes actually come from a magazine. Each week a new chapter of many different manga are published, and the most successful ones get their own book with all the chapters consolidated into a volume.

Children’s Books  児童書

はらぺこあおむし (The Hungry Caterpillar), Taken from http://www.ehonnavi.net/ehon/23/はらぺこあおむし/

Imagine all the books you read as a child came back, but were now all in someone else’s language. That’s exactly what happens upon entering the ‘Kids Corner’ of Kinokuniya‘s lowest floor.                                                                                                                                         On our trip down memory lane, we came across classics such as the Hungry Caterpillar, Where the Wild Things are, and Snoopy all lovingly renamed in Japanese as はらぺこあおむし and かいじゅうたちのいるところ. We noticed a few new books as well such as ねここのプーフーかけっこいっとうしょう ‘Little Kitten Puff’s Race for First Place’, which was meant to be a bedtime story about a kitten named Puff who talks to various animals about winning a race.

Scattered around are also some カタカナ and ひらがな  children’s books that even some older customers learning Japanese use from time to time. Interestingly enough, there are no Japanese books adapted to English for younger children to read, but rather adaptations from English into Japanese.

Study Materials  語学

While the children read, adults are able to take the chance to choose from a multitude of Japanese novels, or some Japanese textbooks. Kinokuniya offers a wide variety of textbooks, workbooks, and notecards.

Genki I Textbook, Photo by Michael Richey (2015), Taken from https://www.tofugu.com/reviews/genki-textbook/

In order to prove fluency to jobs and schools in Japan and in other countries, Japanese-speakers (native and non-native) must take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). The JLPT consists of five levels—N1, N2, N3, N4, N5—N1 being the hardest for even natives, including high order Kanji and archaic vocabulary, and N5 being the easiest with hiragana and grammar tested. In order to study at university or work at a company in Japan, people must receive a passing grade on either the N2 or, usually for incredibly selective universities, on the N1. Many people study extensively for the exam and since shipping via Amazon might be both expensive and time-consuming, many opt to conveniently find every brand and author of test prep at Kinokuniya. Some of the most popular textbooks include げんき (Genki), 日本語総まとめ (Nihongo So-matome), and 実力アップ！(Level Up!), which facilitate Japanese learning through vocabulary introduction, reading passages, and grammar lessons. As the hardest of the three alphabets, Kanji workbooks, flashcards, and small books are popular as well.

Often times foreigners and 2nd or 3rd generation Japanese who have lost the language with visit this section—attesting to the globalization of the culture, and a peak in interest among later Japanese generations to regain the language.

What about Japanese novels, you say?                                                                                                                                                Learn about a famous novelist