Kinokuniya Bookstore in Sydney, Australia

[layzee]

It has just come to my attention that there is a Kinokuniya Bookstore operating in Sydney, Australia. According to their bio, they've been there since 1996 which means that it took me almost 15 years to learn about this fact.

In any case, any Sydneynese forum members here want to describe their experiences there?

Some questions I wish to ask include:

1) How big is the store?

2) According to them, they offer "the largest range of books with over 300,000 titles in English, Japanese, Chinese, French and German."

What percentage of the bookstore consists of Japanese books? In this case, I define Japanese book as a book that originates from Japan, and the language of the book is Japanese. English translated localisations of Japanese books, for the purposes of my question, I do not count as a Japanese book.

3) What are the general prices for books available for sale? For example, on average, how much would a Yosh|taka Amano* artbook cost? Because you can't have a Japanese bookstore without Yosh|taka** Amano books.

*Yosh|taka Amano is an artist associated with many Square Enix games, most notably, Final Fantasy.

**I replaced "i" with "|" due to the profanity filter that blocks the word which is a synonym of poo/turd.

[tallkid123]

[Bish]

1. Yeah, pretty freaking big.
I feel that the combined space of the multi-levelled Dymocks or Borders are bigger, but for just one floor, it's pretty expansive.

2. What tallkid said.

3. For books in general, I find that new release stuff is either on par with RRP, or a little more expensive. Sometimes they they import from the UK or US first though, so that's why they're a little more expensive. After a while though, they cut the prices heavily. In the sci-fi section (where I aimlessly browse the most), I've seen books go from ~$25 on release to $12 a few months later.
I have briefly glanced at the Japanese section though, and they seem pretty expensive. Well, my definition of expensive. I once saw a sealed magazine with Haruhi Suzumiya on it (Whether it was a Haruhi magazine or a general anime magazine I cannot say, but it was back when Haruhi was the best thing evaaaarrararrr, etc) going for $40.
Added price of importing, I assumed.
_________________

[JmiYeo]

That's the one thing I wish Melbourne has, Kinokuniya. I've been there and from my experience from Singapore and Japan, the size and structure are somewhat similar. I guess that is how Kino stores are.

When I do need to get Japanese books, I will use their webstore. Primitive but works. They are rather expensive and I feel is due to the import costs. Whilst they have the ability to ship in bulk (I assume), the pricing normally falls similar to something I source from Amazon Japan + EMS shipping to Australia.

In my view, if I am located in NSW, I will go to their store/webstore and enquire about books and items from Japan and whether it is possible to import it in. From my last order (1 yrs back), the pricing was comparable to me ordering it from online. That was before I found out about the freight forwarding, which I now uses for most of my purchases from Japan.

However, I do lack the ability to check out items which might be available in store and I have to know for sure what I want to import.
_________________
「貧乳はステータスだ！希少価値だ！」 - 泉 こなた

[clione]

I totally loooooooooooooove Kinokuniya. Like JmiYeo, I really wish they had a store down in Melbourne as I really miss it. I primarily used it to purchase comics, fantasy novels and the odd manga. They have been good at importing titles, but not so good at letting you know that it has arrived.

I haven't been to the Chinese/Japanese sections as I don't read either language, but that area does seem quite big so I'm guessing that with their large variety, they might be able to accommodate your interests.

In any case, why have you not gone in yet??? I could barely hold in my excitement when I moved to Sydney and looked up at Townhall to see that magnificent sight. I've previously only been to the one in Singapore. Something you should expect is people reading the books at the store, especially in the manga section.

If you like it there and think you'll be buying lots of books (as I did) ask if they still have loyalty cards. I think it was $15 to sign up for %10. If you're anything like me, you'll probably make up the $15 in one or two visits.
_________________

[Island_Wolf]

I work within walkable distance to Kinokuniya Their Jap section is quite good. A great deal of ranges of magazine/artbooks/craftbooks/language books (sorry, these are all I know). With a help of a Jap staff, I got a few very useful Japanese learning books for my other half.

My best friend who is into Japanese lolita loves their fashion magazine ranges, so they must have a really good range. She always buy a few lolita mags there and then come home and make something. I love to go to the Japanese craft section to be inspired for my next sewing project (most recent one was an oriental tissue cover).

Just looking at the craft books are amazing... people made food looking things out of felt!!! And then the artbooks!!! *drools*. Was looking at Final Fantasy Creatures (or was it Monsters, one of them) Japanese artbook last month, just AWESOME!!!. There is many different FF artbooks.

There's also Japanese fashion magazines, like a HUGE variety. Sorry I lack knowledge but my best friend loves them too. She has been collecting the Hello Kitty ones where every issue comes with a new Hello Kitty accessories. And also collects this other ones that comes with makeup and hairstyling tips.
_________________
"Work hard now, play even harder later"
I am an Industry Ambassador at Girl Geek Coffees (Sydney)
Unofficial PALGNchat - IRC Client *New Server!*

[THEMAN]

I work like 4 minutes away in clarence street. Its good for lunch time perusals, but I rarely buy books from here. Tend to get it from online shops for 1/3 the price or thereabouts. Bought some art books though. They do sell them and sometimes, the price is right. Fantastic range. They have a huge colleciton of japanese press/books and also western comics + figurine/toys + A rocking architectural book selection

Great japanese noodle place (ichiban boshi) cross the road (thematically tieing the whole floor together)
_________________

[MaTBoY]

Great selection of book, comics, toys.etc.etc.etc.etc

very pricey though.
_________________
Worst. Signature. Ever.
My Website
My Flickr