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- Great experience in Jimbocho. Enjoy excellent curry and books at the same time!
Jimbocho is one of Japan's best-known antiquarian bookstores, and is also home to many famous curry restaurants. According to one theory, curry restaurants became popular because it is easy to eat with one hand while reading. Many visitors may spent their time in Jimbocho, first filling their stomachs with curry and touring antiquarian bookstores. In fact, there are places in Jimbocho where you can enjoy both old books and curry at the same time. In this post, we will introduce some unique spots in Jimbocho where you can immerse yourself in reading while tasting the special curry.
Located on the second floor of @Wonder, a used book store, Book Cafe 20 Seiki is a book café where you can relax and read old books in a spacious environment. They carry various genres of books including sci-fi, mystery, movies, subcultures, and so on.
"They offer two types of curry, keema and beef.
What you can order with curry is not only beverages such as deep-brewed coffee, but also desserts such as Mont Blanc, gateau chocolat, and so on. Another option is a rice flour steamed bread from Rice Flour Cafe Tida, which is made from healthier ingredients."
After the café closes, they also regularly hosts events like vaudeville, stand-up comedy, historical workshop, reading groups, and so on. It is also available for rent as an event venue. Here, you may meet new people who share the same interest.
Book Cafe 20 Seiki Read more
| Address | 2F, 2-5-4 KandaｰJimbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo |
| TEL | 03-5213-4853 |
| Business Hour | 平日・土曜11:00〜19:00 日曜・祝日11:00〜18:00 |
Jimbocho Book Center is a complex facility consisting of a bookstore with a wide selection of books from Iwanami Shoten, a café where you can relax, and a coworking space where various events are carried out.
You can taste their Horohoro Wagyu Curry in a café space surrounded by books on the first floor. As its name suggests, the tenderly cooked beef with full of umami, is so soft that it melts away on your tongue. The roux has a mild, nostalgic taste that is familiar to many Japanese. The rice is Satoyama-no-Tsubu, selected by Koike Rice, which possesses a Five Star Rice Meister qualification. Another great thing is that the lunch comes with salad and a free drink.
We also recommend the five-colors Liquor Sour Collection unique to Jimbocho Book Center.
Pomegranate(red), melon(green), lemon(yellow), lychee(blue), and Calpico(white) jellies float in the liquor sours. Apparently, the jelly colors were inspired by the colors of Iwanami books' bands.
Jimbocho Book Center Read more
| Address | 2-3-1 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo |
| TEL | 03-6268-9064 |
| Business Hour | 平日：9:00〜19:00 土日祝：10:00〜19:00 |
Book Hotel Jimbocho is a hotel with the concept of "finding my book." The hotel has about three rooms on each floor and a total of 32 guest rooms. In the hotel, a wide variety of books of different genres are lined up everywhere, including the front desk, each floor, and guest rooms.
On each floor, there are lined books selected by our staff according to a certain theme, such as "I'm in the mood to cry today" or "All night mystery!" The books in the hotel can be freely brought into your own room so that you can enjoy your stay at the hotel while encountering new books.
Also, book matching service is popular among overnight guest. If you respond to a survey by 10 p.m. two days before your stay, the staff will choose books based on your answers and hand them to you in a Book Hotel Jimbocho original bag at the front desk when you check in. There are many popular curry restaurants nearby as well, so we also recommend taking out curry and holing up in your room to read.
BOOK HOTEL Jimbocho Read more
| Address | 2-5-13 KandaｰJimbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo |
| TEL | 03-6380-8228 |
| Business Hour | 8:00～22:00 ※チェックインは原則23時までとなります |
Mang Art Room, Jimbocho, a private room-like hotel on the 12th floor of Book Hotel Jimbocho opend in September 2022 with the cooperetaion of the editional department of Shonen Jump Plus magazine. Each room is designed to resemble a cave of manga, and is equipped with a private sauna. This hotel is a must for manga and sauna lovers, where they can immerse themselves in the world of manga after conditioning their five senses.
"There are two guest rooms: the Pure White Room (or Manga Cave White) and the Pure Black Room (or Manga Cave Black), both based on motif of black and white colors that compose the manga artwork.
They also hold events regularly, collaborating with popular manga series. During these periods, you can enjoy exhibits related to the series, such as Q&A, drafts, and duplicates of the originals by the creator on the 12th floor and in the guest rooms."
Those rooms have private saunas that can accommodate up to two people, including a self-löyly you can use whenever you like. After the sauna, you can cool off in the rain shower or in the relaxation area provided in the room. This room is the ideal place to spend the night reading manga after sweating it out in the sauna and take-out curry.
MANGA ART ROOM, JIMBOCHO Read more
| Address | 2-5-13 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo |
| TEL | 03-6380-8228 |
| Business Hour | 8:00～22:00 ※チェックインは原則23時までとなります |
"Jimbocho is dotted with numerous bookstores as well as antiquarian bookstores.
Books Tokyodo is one of the oldest large-scale bookstore that is top-class even at Jimbocho. Next to it is Paper Back Café. "
There are a total of 30 seats from the first to the third floor and it offers free Wi-Fi and power supply. Many people come here to eat at lunchtime. Its classic dish, Tokyodo Curry, is simple yet spicy. They also Tokyodo Katsu Curry dish, which comes with a voluminous pork cutlet on top.
"Other than that, the food menu also offers a wide variety of dishes such as Mentaiko Pasta, Taco-rice, Egg Sandwich, and Tuna Sandwich. Also, other than their grand menu, they also have a seasonal menu.
In autumn, you can enjoy autumn flavors such as Autumn Vegetable Rice Bowl with Black Vinegar Sauce, Soy Milk Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms, and Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich."
Books Tokyodo Read more
| Address | 1-17 KandaｰJimbocho Chiyoda City, Tokyo |
| TEL | 03-3291-5181 |
| Business Hour | 書店 11：00～19：00 カフェ 11：00～18：00（L.O.17：45） |
Book House Café is a children's bookstore that is adjoined to a café. More than 10,000 children's books are on display, categorized by academic year and age, making it easy to choose books.
In the café space inside the store, you can taste Special Beef and Cheese Curry which is European style curry from a famous restaurant at Jimbocho. The brown sauce, stewed for many hours and containing the depth of spice in its sweetness, is exquisite. A children's curry dish with a mild spiciness is also available, making it a perfect space for families to dine together.
Many mothers and fathers can be seen sitting together on sofas in the café space while reading picture books that they purchased to their children.
Book House Cafe Read more
| Address | 1F, Kitazawa Bldg., 2-5 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
| Business Hour | 11:00～18:00 |
"Mafumi Coffee is a café where you can enjoy special coffee that has been carefully brewed. When you take a step into the warm, brick-made interior, the first thing you see is the owner's collection of books covering the entire wall.
There are 4,000 books of various genres in this collection, from novels to manga, research papers, and so on."
At Mafumi Coffee, we also recommend their Curry Rice, which is topped with plenty of cheese. It is a filling dish with generous amounts of vegetables and meat.
Also, their Mizururi coffee, which is cold brewed for more than 15 hours, is served with ice that has been cut into large diamonds, and you can enjoy its rich flavor that resembles whiskey.
Mafumi Coffee Shop Read more
| Address | 3-1-7 Kanda Ogawamachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo |
| TEL | 03-6873-9351 |
| Business Hour | 月〜土12:00〜23:00 日/祝12:00〜21:00 |
Book Cafe 20 Seiki
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Jimbocho Book Center
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BOOK HOTEL Jimbocho
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MANGA ART ROOM, JIMBOCHO
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Books Tokyodo
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Book House Cafe
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Mafumi Coffee Shop
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Have an unrivaled reading experience with books and special curry that can only be found at Jimbocho
We introduced spots where you can enjoy curry while reading books that line the shelves of stores, cafes, and other facilities. The joy of encountering a new favorite book is irreplaceable, and the curry you savor while reading such a memorable book is sure to be exceptional. Please try out the unique experience of making memories of curry and reading at Jimbocho.
