Morioka Shoten

The economics of this fascinate me. There is absolutely no way selling paper copies of a single book (even/especially if it changes daily: what happens to unsold stock?) can cover the costs of ground floor retail store rental in the Ginza plus apparently engaging boutique branding agencies to do in depth explorations of a logo complete with a custom typeface.

For reference, a standard bunko paperback in Japan costs on the order of ¥600 (US$4), maybe 2-3x that if you splash out on the hardcover.

Its reminding me very much of NYC's Chelsea district. Probably inspired by that fine arts culture, which is a little odd for Tokyo, as I've always found it have more subtle aesthetic sensibilities than New York.

Another interesting building nearby, with very small art galleries and independent shopowners, and a manually-operated elevator from some hundred years ago:

https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/gu900067/ginza’s-ok...

https://www.dennisherman.com/blog/2024/2/26/okuno-a-ghost-of...

Okuno Building