Local Sources for Japanese Kids’ Books

Help me expand this list! If you know of anywhere outside Japan where you can buy or borrow Japanese children’s books, or if you have more information about any of the places already on this list, e-mail me and let me know. Please include a link, if possible, and a general idea of things like how big the store is or how many books are available. (If it’s a library, see if there’s a way to search for all Japanese children’s books: for example, with the Tacoma library, if you search for “JAJ” (JApanese Juvenile) all the available books are returned.)

USA

California

Costa Mesa

• Kinokuniya: I’ve never been to this location but I presume it’s like the one in Seattle: that is, a spectacular source for new Japanese books, including children’s books and manga.

Los Angeles

• Kinokuniya

San Francisco

• San Francisco Public Library – Western Addition Branch: Only this branch specializes in Japanese books. It is west of SF Japan town. There are hundreds of Japanese kids books. They have all levels from kid’s picture books to juvenile books. They also have adult level books in a different section. (Thanks to Wayne for the description!)
• Kinokuniya: It’s been many years since I’ve been to this location, but like the Seattle branch, it was, and presumably still is, a huge Japanese-language bookstore with a good selection of children’s books and manga.

San Jose

• Kinokuniya

Michigan

Ann Arbor

• Ann Arbor Public Library: over a hundred Japanese children’s books, spread out over the various branches.
• The Dawn Treader: used bookstore with a shelf of Japanese books; in my experience, not very many children’s books, but there does tend to be manga.

Novi

• Mirai: medium-sized store with a good amount of new and some used books.

New York

New York City

• Kinokuniya

Oregon

Portland

• Powell’s: the most famous used bookstore in Portland, with a fairly robust Japanese childrens’ book section.
• Kinokuniya

Tennessee

Nashville

• The Nashville Public Library: has about 20 children’s books in Japanese, ranging from high level 1 to low level 3. These seem to all be at the main branch. Not much, but it is a place to start. (Thanks to e_dub_kendo for the description!)
• McKay Used Books: I can’t speak for their other 2 locations, but the Nashville location is an enormous used book store, with an entire bookcase of Asian books. Generally these are about 70% Japanese. I usually only find 1 or 2 children’s books per visit, but there’s always plenty of manga. Prices are incredibly cheap. Generally I pay less than $1 per book. Sometimes you can find manga and light novels in really decent condition being sold for .25 cents. Definitely a resource worth checking out. (Thanks again to e_dub_kendo!)

Washington State

Pierce County

• Pierce County Library: there are around 800 Japanese books of all levels spread among the various branches, though I can’t say how many of those are children’s books. The Lakewood branch and University Place branch seem to have the most.

Tacoma

• Tacoma Public Library: currently has around 125 Japanese kids’ books at the main branch.

Seattle

• Nikkei Bunko: If you are at all near Seattle and at all interested in tadoku, visit this place as soon as humanly possible. They have hundreds of children’s books and manga to lend, and the volunteers Nara and Bruce are extremely welcoming.
• Seattle Public Library: over 700 children’s books, spread over the various branches; most at the Central Library or International District/Chinatown Branch.
• Kinokuniya: a huge Japanese-language bookstore with a large selection of manga and many kids’ books.