The entire English section of my local bookstore
Is there anywhere more depressing for an expatriate to be than in a foreign bookstore? Upon entering you are faced with row upon row of books and magazines that you`ll never understand.
People you don`t know grace the covers of books you`ll never read. Whole sections are devoted to concepts you don`t understand.
And then there`s the English section. You can guarantee there will be a few Harry Potter books, The Davinci Code and then not much more besides.
If there is a proper English language section, the books are twice as expensive as normal and if you`re lucky enough to find one that sells magazines, you can expect to pay up to three times as much.
I understand that if the same is true of a foreigner entering a bookstore in England. But entering these places really makes it home that you don`t belong there. The place is not for you. And that you`d do better not to go there.
Personally, going into a bookstore and seeing a whole set of strange faces and names on magazine covers would be such a breath of fresh air that I might pass out! I’m so sick of seeing Paris Hilton and her ilk, it ain’t even funny. And besides, Japanese actresses and pop idols are so much more pleasant to look at than the Jennifer Aniston set we have constantly shoved down our throats over here…
No reason why you should never understand. I read my first full novel 3 years after starting Japanese for the first time and magazines and manga long before.
The depressing part is putting all that effort in and then realising there aren’t any magazines in Japanese you want to read…
TEFLtastic blog- http://www.tefl.net/alexcase
There used to be a good bookstore in Namba (i think) with the English section up on the 3rd, maybe 4th floor. Yes, lots of Harry Potter (which i had no problem with), DaVinci Code and Agatha Christie – but heaps of other stuff as well. Everything from trash to Salmon Rushdie.
Novels may have been more expensive than the Japanese ones, but were still cheaper than buying novels here in australia so i wasnt complaining about the price.
I spent hours in that place everytime i got paid.
Junkudo bookstore in Umeda/Osaka has one of the best English Section as far as my bookstore-hunt is concerned
, plus there is a cafe just inside. And I could always ask them to kindly search for a hard to find book. Also amazon Japan is always there, for 3000yen-up of purchase, shipping is free 
Thank God for AMAZON JAPAN!!!