A serendipity seeker scavenges through used books in front of a bookshelf at a used bookstore

People scavenging at a secondhand bookstore

Jimbocho, Tokyo, the city of books, has many used bookstores as well as stores that sell new books, such as Sanseido, Shosen, and Tokyo-Do. By far the largest number of used bookstores are in Jimbocho. There are several used bookstores along Yasukuni Street, and even inside streets, there are used bookstores lined up. There are so many books, both new and used, sold in Jimbocho that it is almost impossible to find a book that does not exist in Jimbocho.

While bookstores in the town are closing one after another in inverse proportion to the rise of online sales, the bookstore district in Jimbocho still remains lively. If you just want to buy books, you can buy paper books at online bookstores represented by Amazon, or even e-books will suffice. Nevertheless, Jimbocho remains vibrant because the people who come to Jimbocho do not come here simply to buy books.

Serendipity is the reason why people come all the way to Jimbocho. You can't experience the serendipity of seeing "people who bought this book also bought this book" or "recommendations for you" on a monitor in a real bookstore. You may unexpectedly find a book that looks interesting and buy it without thinking. Many people who come to Jimbocho must be looking for such an experience.

I am one such person who came to Jimbocho in search of serendipity. I happened to pick up a copy of "Burari Eurasia," a travelogue by a photographer and headed home.

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