Jinbocho is known as Tokyo’s famed “book town,” a historic district lined with hundreds of bookstores, ranging from tiny secondhand shops stacked floor to ceiling with rare volumes to major multi-story retailers offering new releases, academic texts, and foreign-language titles. But we were there for one bookstore in particular: Anegawa Nyankodō, or the Cat Bookstore.
I’d thought that having a destination like that was a good way to explore a unique neighborhood, but we actually found two books we wanted! And the process of purchasing them was probably one of my favorite experiences on the trip. The elderly gentleman was so friendly and old-school, he turned wrapping up the two volumes and ringing us up into a ritual of folds and bows, presenting us with our generic “Books and Things” plastic bag with great ceremony, and talking to us in Japanese the whole time. I was in love.
I actually don’t remember where these photos were taken; they were somewhere in transit to and from Tokyo and Kamakura.
We’d passed through Akihabara on our first night in Tokyo, but we figured that it would be fun to visit again during the day. Akihabara is known as Tokyo’s “Electric Town,” a long-time hub for electronics and computer parts that’s now a global center of otaku culture, gaming, and “themed” cafés. We didn’t go to any of those, alas.
We did, however, have lunch at a kebab place. I was so surprised to see it; I just had to have their fusion of shawarma on rice. I would later realize that Momo’s has an empire of these spots across Tokyo. Good for Momo’s.
It was fun to overhear the Turkish chatter across the counter, and I definitely caught the glances at me, like, “is he… isn’t he?”