Kinokuniya Portland, located in between Portland State University’s Shattuck Hall and Powell’s City of Books on 829 SW 9th Ave., has been calling the historic Guild Theatre building home since August 2019. The store carries books, unique merchandise and stationery, with a focus on Japanese art and comics.
The bookstore first set up shop inside Uwajimaya Beaverton, in 1998. The second location opened in 2019 in order to capitalize on the more accessible and central location. There are about 50 Kinokuniya locations in Japan, where Kinokuniya was founded, about 20 stores in the United States, and around 80 around the world.
At the entrance of the downtown location, customers use the high-hat stand that sits across from a large, plush Totoro to dispense hand sanitizer.
The main floor of the store is home to books and comics in both English and Japanese as well as various art and writing tools. There are multiple sizes of sketch pads and paper, fountain pens, brush pens and pens with decorations from popular comics and movies. There is also a small collection of figurines, pins and stickers.
A majority of the shelves hold comic books in Japanese and English, with signs to differentiate between the languages. In the back corner by the stairs are a few rows of different plushies of animal characters from comics and movies.
The upstairs area is dedicated to Studio Ghibli, most famous for “Princess Mononoke” and “My Neighbor Totoro,” and has products which include posters, movies, books and miscellaneous trinkets from washcloths to chip clips. Within this section, the collection of comics and figurines continues.
Over the years, Kinokuniya has managed to evolve. There used to be a cafe inside the store, but now it can only be found at its SW 10th Ave. location by the name of Behind the Museum Cafe.
Customer service is provided by employees who are excited to help find products and often have lengthy knowledge they are willing to share. Shopping in-person also sustains the local economy that Kinokuniya is proud to be a part of.
The store and its employees make sure to cater to the needs of their patrons by finding things that are not often found in other stores, making it the perfect shop for those who are looking for Japanese comics and imports of almost all kinds.
Photograph by Isabelle Atha
About the Author
