Kinokuniya Bookstore - Los Angeles

an awesome book store selling plenty of different books, mangas, magazines, even collectibles, little trinkets, accessories, and stationary. the staff here are also people who really care about their work and the store, and it was really lovely to see

I am a huge Kinokuniya fan, ever since I moved from Costa Mesa to Pasadena and started frequenting their Santa Anita Mall location (back in Costa Mesa, BookOff on Baker was the place to go, for sure). I have been to this Little Tokyo location about two or three times already, and although it is a bit more of an inconvenience to get to if you live in the SGV like me, I think it is worth the trip, since it is about twice as large with maybe 3 times as many things as their Santa Anita mall. Their comic book and manga selection is huge, both in English and in 日本語, they have stationery items, art books, video game guidebooks, toys, plush toys, etc. They even have a dedicated children's books section in Japanese and even a fantastic (but neglected and not as well-stocked as I'd like) Japanese language section in the back of the store (I am going to take the N4 this upcoming December, so I got a few prepbooks here). Everyone is courteous and friendly, the patrons themselves are great too. And I happened to have gone on Nissei week, which made it so that there was people in cosplay and whatnot. Interesting experience and interesting location. Will for sure be back if I am in the area again (had to park like 3 blocks away, on Omar and 3rd Street and walk over) and I am willing to put up with how much of a nightmare parking in the area is. 10/10 for the service, product selection and overall layout of the store!

The last time I visited was sometime in either 2016 or 2017 and yesterday just might have been my last time ever visiting. This place is now overcrowded and full of obnoxious gen Z customers, the A/C or ventilation is either off or busted but it was rather stuffy and warm and not in a good way. There are now at least 2-3 security guards walking around but that may be because of the uptick in shoplifting in the last couple of years. I only managed to get this photo because I could not stand being inside much longer and I could not window shop comfortably. I walked in because I was curious to see how much Kinomuniya has changed and it has changed a lot and not in a good way in my opinion. I will stick to online ordering as I have in the last 7-8 years. In my point of view ever since anime and manga stopped being niche, the hobby has begun to get too much exposure by the wrong crowds. I can remember a time in 1998 or 99 when I first visited Kinokunoya and how different it felt to be part of this hobby. Nowadays you need to keep this hobby a secret to avoid being thrown in with the average otaku today. I can keep on rambling about what is so bad with fans today but this is not the platform to do so. If this is okay with you by all means disregard this review. I just didn't have a good experience yesterday and I wasn't expecting it either.

A nice Kinokuniya! Smaller than the one in SF, but a nice selection of manga (and fountain pens!).

Amazing place! Love the atmosphere. Customer service was amazing. The only problem I had was the no restroom! It’s hard to look when you have to “go” all of a sudden . I guess they don’t want people to loiter that long in there store.

My kids love this book store , we are from Texas.so we go to the one in Katy . We were visiting family in L.A . and could not pass up the opportunity to visit the L.A. store in little Tokyo. Loved the plaza , atmosphere, and the many place to eat , shop. Definitely going again.

One of my favorite bookstores! Lots of rare and imported books from Japanese (and other nationalities) authors that are hard to find at other stores. Many are translated into English as well. Loads of great stationary and pens, fun gifts and workbooks for school. I love sincere personal comics, and I found a book about ADHD and mental health from a Japanese perspective that I love love love! Come find your new favorite novel or manga! One note though: many books here are shrink wrapped, so you cannot check out the interior before purchasing. This can make it fun to discover your new favorite book, I think, but just a heads up!

Unfortunately, I need a dictionary that only this bookstore sells. I asked for help to buy the book and they denied the possibility of helping me buy it. I am saddened by the negative attitude of Some of the staff are good bookshop owners but on this occasion they disappointed me by not being kind enough to look for the dictionary I needed since I asked them to take photos of their books. Dictionaries and they could upload them in this information section I also asked him for support to be able to send it to Mexico where I am and that I would pay the expenses because I want to acquire this book and a baron responded very despotically that it is not possible. Helping nothing and it doesn't leave me with much to think about regarding their service as a bookstore And it is unfortunate because it is an excellent bookstore but the staff is very bad at serving or providing customer service because they are not apathetic towards customers and get upset when they are asked for help. To purchase a product from a man who works in this bookstore