Tamura Shoten

There are more than 140 bookshops in Kanda Jimbocho, but this venerable second-hand store has been operating since the end of the Meiji period and is the best known. It features English, German and French literature from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, and a wide range of genres including philosophy, Greek and Latin classics, illustrated books, traditional culture and even autographs. The shop also actively bids in overseas auctions, and if there is a book you want it can import it for you. There are Japanese books on the first floor and Western books on the second, but certain genres are displayed in both, making Tamura Shoten a great source for comparison information gathering.