Isseido Booksellers
Jimbocho, Tokyo
- Mon to Sat
- 10:00 to 18:30
- Sun
- Closed
Closed on public holidays.
Source: isseido-books.co.jp, checked 5 Oct 2026.
Isseido Booksellers is Jimbocho's landmark antiquarian bookshop, trading since 1903 from a stone-faced building finished in 1931 that came through the war intact. The ground floor holds Japanese scholarship and rare books. Upstairs is one of the best stocks of antiquarian English-language books in Tokyo.
More photos of Isseido Booksellers
Insider tip
Head straight upstairs for old European and English books, including early travel writing on Japan. Closed Sundays and public holidays.
What's on near Isseido Booksellers
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Isseido Booksellers, from the weekly Tokyo events calendar.
Jimbocho Theater: 80s Nostalgia III
神保町シアター「80年代ノスタルジアⅢ」
Time Showtimes about 11:00 to 19:15, vary by film Station Jimbocho (Toei Mita, Shinjuku lines), 3 min walk
Film programme of 1980s Japanese films, each screening for one week with seven showtimes.
Kanda Used Book Festival
神田古本まつり
Time 10:00 to 18:00 Station Jimbocho (Toei Mita, Shinjuku, Hanzomon Lines), 1 min walk
The world's largest secondhand-book district puts hundreds of thousands of volumes out on the street each autumn, with stalls lining Yasukuni-dori beside the permanent bookshops. Old maps, ukiyo-e prints, and out-of-print photo books turn up alongside bargain carts.
Kanda Used Book Festival (66th Jimbocho Book Festival)
第66回 東京名物 神田古本まつり
Time 10:00 to 18:00 Station Jimbocho (Toei Mita/Shinjuku Lines, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line), 1 min walk
The 66th edition of the Kanda Used Book Festival takes place from October 23 to November 1, 2026, along the Jimbocho secondhand bookstore district. The organisers have set opening hours of 10:00 to 18:00 for the run of the festival. Hundreds of thousands of secondhand and antiquarian books are laid out on outdoor tables and stalls along Yasukuni-dori, making it one of the largest used-book events in the country.
Meiji University and the Hill Top Hotel (Yamanoue Hotel) exhibition
企画展「明治大学と山の上ホテル」
Time Follows Meiji University Museum hours Station Ochanomizu (JR, Marunouchi Line) or Jimbocho, about 5 min walk
Special exhibition on the university's ties to the Hill Top Hotel in Surugadai, shown in the campus special exhibition room.
Meiji Collection 66: Sakamoto Manshichi, Archaeological Materials Seen by a Photographer
明大コレクション66「坂本万七 写真家が見た考古資料」
Time Weekdays 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30), Saturdays 10:00 to 16:00 (last entry 15:30), closed Sundays and holidays Station Ochanomizu (JR, Marunouchi Line) or Jimbocho, about 5 min walk
Photographs by Sakamoto Manshichi of the museum's archaeological objects, shown beside the real items.
Smaller local events nearby
Jimbocho Book Festival Market
24 to 25 Oct · Kanda Suzuran-dori, Sakura-dori and the Jimbocho Mitsui Building plaza
Publishers set up book stalls along Suzuran-dori and Sakura-dori, with a children's book area and a food court that close at 17:00.
Free · 10:00 to 18:00 · Map · Source: Jimbocho Book Festival Executive Committee · 第34回 神保町ブックフェスティバル(実行委員会主催)
Yasukuni-dori and Hakusan-dori illuminations in Jimbocho Illumination
1 Dec to 11 Jan (dates to be confirmed) · Yasukuni-dori from Senshu-mae to Sudacho crossing, and Hakusan-dori from the Iwanami Building plaza at Jimbocho crossing
About 100,000 LEDs on the Yasukuni-dori sidewalk planting through the book town, plus street-tree lights and Christmas decorations at the Jimbocho crossing.
Free · Evenings · Map · Source: Koho Chiyoda No.1652, 20 Nov 2025; organiser 南神実業会 · Yasukuniイルミネーション（靖国通り・白山通り）
Nearby
Around Jimbocho
Tokyo's book town, fuelled by curry and old coffee houses
Jimbocho is the largest second-hand book district in the world, with around 130 bookshops on a few blocks, from rare woodblock prints to 100-yen paperback carts. Between the shelves you'll find some of Tokyo's oldest coffee houses and the densest cluster of curry restaurants in the city, and that's what the book trade has run on for a century.
Jimbocho has 7 places on the Roam Tokyo map: 3 cafes, 2 shops and 2 restaurants. Read the Jimbocho guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Isseido Booksellers?
- 1-7 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese: 東京都千代田区神田神保町1丁目7番地).
- What are the opening hours of Isseido Booksellers?
- Mon to Sat 10:00 to 18:30; Closed Sun. Closed on public holidays.
- How do I get to Isseido Booksellers?
- The nearest station is Jimbocho (Hanzomon / Mita / Shinjuku Line). Isseido Booksellers is in Jimbocho, Tokyo.
- How much does Isseido Booksellers cost?
- Isseido Booksellers is mid-range, marked ¥¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Isseido Booksellers?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Isseido Booksellers?
- Weekday afternoons.
Stay near Isseido Booksellers
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