As a bookworm living in Japan, I couldn't wait until I learned enough kanji to be able to delve into a well-written novel in Japanese. While the majority of Japanese books may still be a bit out of reach for my Japanese language level, I've nonetheless done my fair share of research regarding the where and the how of how to obtain such books when the time comes.
Unlike most places in America, you'll find a bookstore or manga café in almost every neighborhood, on nearly every other corner here in Japan. You'll see young and old alike standing in the aisles of bookstores, trains, and buses with a good old fashion book in their hands. And while I, too, love the smell and feel of a freshly printed book, I also enjoy being able to hold infinite amounts of text at any one time, especially when you live in a tiny apartment in Japan!
Cue the e-book. I still remember the first Kindle I received as a gift around 2014. I was an English literature major at the time, and carrying around those huge anthologies was starting to get old. I've never looked back since and when I was gifted with a Kindle paperwhite for my birthday, I've been on the hunt for Japanese eBooks ever since.
The Japanese word for eBook is denshi shoseki, and the Japanese market is increasing year by year. Navigating Japanese websites can be quite a doozy even on a good day, so I'm here to share Japanese eBook sites that are straightforward, accessible, have a good selection, and, of course, also offer some free options.
BOOK LIVE
Book Live is an e-book website that boasts over 1.29 billion books. Although creating an account is required, it can be completed in less than a minute, without the need for entering any personal details or payment methods. What I like about Book Live is its easy navigation and straightforward way of searching and filtering. There is a seemingly endless amount of books, manga, and magazines, so having a well-organized website is a must. Despite the large selection, however, the free selection leaves a lot to be desired. Most free books are just excerpts from the paid version. Therefore, it can be difficult to find a good quality, fully free eBook. Also, you'll need to download the Book Live app to read books on your phone, without any way to transfer to an e-reader.
BOOK☆WALKER
The first thing I noticed about Book Walker is that its homepage is extremely too cluttered and loud. I thought the member page would be different, but it's just as cluttered. While I found the selection quite extensive, especially when it came to manga, searching was quite disorienting. What I did find nice is that there is a straightforward "Free" tab at the top, and I found that although some of them were "excerpts", most of them were full free books, and navigating was a lot more straightforward than Book Live. If you're interested in buying books, they have an "all you can read" option that you can pay for that will allow you to read as many books as you like for a flat fee.
HONTO
Honto houses over 700,000 e-books and also has the option of buying physical copies as well. Creating a membership is easy, and browsing is pretty organized as well. While the free eBook section leaves a lot to be desired, there is a wide selection of genres and categories. What I am not too fond of, since I like to read Japanese eBooks from my PC sometimes, is that I need to download special software to read some of the books. Other eBooks, however, can easily be read directly in the browser.
KINOKUNIYA | KINOPPY
Kinokuniya is a well-known bookstore here in Japan with several physical stores located abroad. They boast over 1 million books on their website and have a dedicated eBook store called Kinoppy. While I like the wide selection of eBooks, I found Kinoppy to be the hardest to navigate. I found the website finicky, especially when it came to making a membership (I had trouble setting an appropriate password and getting the confirmation e-mail to send), and I also found it frustrating when I tried to buy eBooks online but they couldn't be found on the Kinoppy app on my phone. Overall, however, I enjoy Kinoppy's eReader the best and also many books can be downloaded as an ePub and transferred to your own reader.
AMAZON | KINDLE UNLIMITED
As someone who owns a Kindle, I'm most familiar with the Amazon and Kindle Unlimited stores. I love the seamless connection between the store to a Kindle device or the Kindle app, and I found the book selection beyond enough. I also like that it is much easier to purchase books from independent authors who have published through Amazon, as you may come across a few hidden gems! I would like to point out, however, that if you'd like to read Japanese eBooks, you'll have to make a separate account on the Japanese Amazon site. There is no crossover between Amazon sites, but you can switch the language to English on the Japanese Amazon site if you want to make navigating a bit easier.
When searching for and browsing through each eBook service site, I recommend you find and stick to one that you think covers your needs the most. I tend to stick with Amazon/Kindle Unlimited, and I very rarely find the need to switch between other eBook services. Which eBook site do you use? Have any others that you recommend? I'd love to hear about it the comment section below! Happy Reading!
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the above websites. I was not paid nor did I receive anything in return for recommending the above websites.
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