About a 10-minute walk from Kanayama Sogo Station, if you turn right from the main street, you will come to a quiet residential area that was once a shopping street. The atmosphere is a little different from the urban area of Kanayama, with a calm and relaxed feel. If you look closely, you will see a sign indicating the entrance to Sawagami Shopping Street, with a row of small shops. This shopping street was once known as "the narrowest shopping street in Nagoya," and was a lively street packed with many stores. In Sawagami Shopping Street, there is a bookstore called "TOUTEN BOOKSTORE," with striking glass windows designed with the words "Books," "Coffee," and "Beer," providing a place for chance encounters with books.

How I started the bookstore

"Books take you outside the boundaries of your own interests," says Shihoko Koga, explaining the appeal of books. The owner, Koga, has always loved books and worked in the publishing distribution industry as an office worker. She says that even when she was tired from work, a bookstore was a place where she could stop and take a deep breath, broaden her horizons, and take a breather. Seeing the rapid decline of such important places, bookstores, she started "TOUTEN BOOKSTORE" in an attempt to find a sustainable form of bookstore.

Starting a business can be a source of anxiety, but Koga-san calmly told us that when he started the shop, there was no big decision to make, and it was no different from the feeling of changing jobs. "It may be difficult to continue, but anyone can open a shop. Even if it doesn't work out, you can always get a job or start over, so I think people who want to do it should just keep trying," he says, encouraging the younger generation to take on challenges. The very presence of the shop owner brings about positive realizations, just like the books you'll find here.

Books and people that lead to chance encounters

The lineup of books is wide-ranging, and the balance is important. Through the books, you can feel what Koga values, such as "books that allow you to look at society," "books that give you new realizations," "books that empathize with feelings of incomprehension," and "books that allow you to think deeply." With the number of individual publications on the rise, even the owner himself cannot keep up with them, but through requests from customers and introductions from acquaintances, "TOUTEN BOOKSTORE" has a unique lineup that is unique to it, which is appealing.

Koga says that nothing can be combined with so many different fields as books. For example, you can use books as a starting point to deepen your learning on various themes such as "books x cooking" or "books x travel." "TOUTEN BOOKSTORE" holds various events based on a specific theme. The atmosphere changes completely from the calm atmosphere during the day, and many people gather at events, sometimes filling the store to capacity. "TOUTEN BOOKSTORE" is a bookstore where people gather, and you can get a glimpse of a new side of the bookstore here. The owner Koga says that the possibilities of books themselves are endless, and he enjoys thinking about how to multiply them every day.

A place where you can experience what you love and connect with others

Various special exhibitions are held in the exhibition room on the second floor.

In the limited-time special exhibition, a two-person exhibition by Manao Inukai and Mayumi Terada was held to commemorate the publication of the poetry collection "Don't Love Me by Your Habits," and Manao Inukai's writing space was reproduced in one corner. Fans from all over the country came to visit, and the place was bustling with people.

The coffee, homemade sweets, and beer that can be enjoyed in the shop are all carefully selected by the owner, Mr. Koga. The homemade sweets are vegan baked rice flour cookies from "Yakigashi Momo," an acquaintance of the owner. The coffee is "QOL COFFEE," the owner's favorite.

For craft beer, we went to "OKD KOMINKA BREWING," which brews craft beer using plenty of local ingredients in Okada, Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture. Koga says that the appeal of OKD's craft beer is that it is locally produced and combined with a variety of ingredients.

"TOUTEN BOOKSTORE" is filled with Koga's charm, who values the things he loves and connections with people.

Store name: TOUTEN BOOKSTORE

Address: 1-6-9 Sawakami, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, 456-0012

Access: 7-10 minutes walk from the south or east exit of Kanayama Station

Official website: https://www.touten-bookstore.net/

*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.