I’ll be in Kyoto next week and, just for the sake of it (as I’m pretty much a beginner) I would like to visit a bookshop and/or a shop selling manga to buy one of each, sort of as something to aspire to. I know there are lots of threads around asking about easy books and manga, but I don’t have much time to search them, so if anyone can recommend the easiest possible book and the easiest possible manga, and a shop I could buy them from in Kyoto (I’ll be staying in the northern part, not that far from the Imperial Palace), I’d be most grateful.
Also, though maybe not strictly Japanese Language - though I’ll be hoping to try out the little I know while I’m there - if anyone can suggest a venue where we might get to hear some live jazz, that would be great too. I have been to Kyoto before and visited most of the jazz kissas, but didn’t get to hear anything live. We’d be looking for somewhere informal where we could have a few drinks and maybe eat as well while listening.
Thank you!
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In Kyoto, there is the international manga museum Google Maps They have a manga storyteller. I went with my husband (Japanese) and he loved it because there are literally tens of thousands to read. There are few exhibits and many, many manga. It’s close to Karasuma Oike station.
The Absolute Beginners Book Club is probably the best place to find the manga and novel list, especially as it has vocabulary lists etc for the chapters. I’ve read a few from there and like the choices they’ve made. The current manga is 俺物語! ・ My Love Story! 🍰 (Absolute Beginner Book Club) - #43 by ChristopherFritz
My favorite bookstore in Kyoto is Maruzen, which is huge and has a variety of book types, including manga (though it’s not walking distance). Google Maps It’s the two basement floors of a department store, fairly close to Shijo Kawaramachi, in an area with a lot of shopping. Also, BOOK OFF is a used bookstore chain that has manga, as well as bundles of series (many locations).
(Edited for clarification after checking OP’s location in Kyoto and to add the link to the book club).
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