One last trip to Asahiya
I went into the city again today. I had some errands to run and other shopping to do, but my major reason for going was Asahiya. After finding out they were going out of business after my previous visit, I wanted to see what was left and get what I could before the place vanished. Between this trip and the last, I must've spent more at Asahiya those two times than during the past five years combined. I always loved the store for browsing, but their selection was never as good as Kinokuniya's, and on some occassions, neither were their prices.
The last time I went, I think they were offering their books for US$1.00 per ¥100 on the cover price; thus, an ¥1,800 book would be $18.00. Now, the prices have dived even lower. Today's haul:
- Groundwork of Gurren Lagann vol. 2 - listed price: ¥3,000 - what I paid: $17.80
- Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VIII - listed price: ¥2,854 - what I paid: $15.00
- two of those $1.00 Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 13 limited editions, originally ¥800 each (and whaddya know, that LE does include a full deck of cards!). By the way, the stack had shrunk some, but there are still plenty left.
There's still time for those of you who live in the area and want to check out their going-out-of-business sale, but after October 31st, that's it. They're located on 45th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues. Pretty much everything's on sale save for magazines.
I always felt that compared to Book-Off and especially Kinokuniya, Asahiya was a "best-kept secret" for local otaku. It was always a quiet store-even at it's older, bigger location near Grand Central-and while the others drew in ever larger numbers of non-Japanese customers, Asahiya's clientele remained much the same. They were smaller and didn't carry very many English-language books after their move-and no translated manga or artbooks-but I came to like that about Asahiya. It was nice to go into a Japanese bookstore which was quiet, serene, and not overrun by weeaboos, even if all I got out of it was some interesting browsing.
Unfortunately, one reason why I think it remained a best-kept secret in the worst way is its current location. While it is a bit more convenient (and nicer) than its old Vanderbilt one, some confusion about the address may have led to many people trying to find the store and failing. Asahiya is listed on Google Maps and at other places as being at 360 Madison Avenue, but while this might be the mailing address, the actual storefront is at the location I have listed above and on my shopping guide.
Anyway, Asahiya, I'll be sad to see you go. Thanks for being a great store.
The last time I went, I think they were offering their books for US$1.00 per ¥100 on the cover price; thus, an ¥1,800 book would be $18.00. Now, the prices have dived even lower. Today's haul:
- Groundwork of Gurren Lagann vol. 2 - listed price: ¥3,000 - what I paid: $17.80
- Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VIII - listed price: ¥2,854 - what I paid: $15.00
- two of those $1.00 Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 13 limited editions, originally ¥800 each (and whaddya know, that LE does include a full deck of cards!). By the way, the stack had shrunk some, but there are still plenty left.
There's still time for those of you who live in the area and want to check out their going-out-of-business sale, but after October 31st, that's it. They're located on 45th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues. Pretty much everything's on sale save for magazines.
I always felt that compared to Book-Off and especially Kinokuniya, Asahiya was a "best-kept secret" for local otaku. It was always a quiet store-even at it's older, bigger location near Grand Central-and while the others drew in ever larger numbers of non-Japanese customers, Asahiya's clientele remained much the same. They were smaller and didn't carry very many English-language books after their move-and no translated manga or artbooks-but I came to like that about Asahiya. It was nice to go into a Japanese bookstore which was quiet, serene, and not overrun by weeaboos, even if all I got out of it was some interesting browsing.
Unfortunately, one reason why I think it remained a best-kept secret in the worst way is its current location. While it is a bit more convenient (and nicer) than its old Vanderbilt one, some confusion about the address may have led to many people trying to find the store and failing. Asahiya is listed on Google Maps and at other places as being at 360 Madison Avenue, but while this might be the mailing address, the actual storefront is at the location I have listed above and on my shopping guide.
Anyway, Asahiya, I'll be sad to see you go. Thanks for being a great store.