30DWC Day 28: Village Vanguard Japan.

When I first visited Village Vanguard in Aeon Mall, I never thought it’s a bookstore. Why? Because I saw weird stuff, food and a lot of kawaii things inside, who would’ve thought it’s a bookstore? But when I searched what really is Village Vanguard, I found out that it’s a vintage bookstore, hideout for geeks, nerds, and other otaku. 

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Village Vanguard is a break from the constant nightlife that tends to surrounds each branch; away from all the flashing neon lights, pachinko machines and AKB48 songs, the so-called “exciting bookstore” offers an escape into a retro, random universe. Pop culture abounds, including The Simpsons, Star Wars, Akira, Chibi Maruko, and that one old Japanese anime you can’t remember the name of but know was all the rage back in the 70s.

Teetering columns of candy-colored comics and toothy bobbleheads form a maze of sorts; be careful, though, because a single twist can lead you to an even more bizarre corner. At the store I visited, a right turn from life-sized Beatles’ inflatable dolls led to a “vintage” corner full of creaky fountain pens and fake British East India Company charters, which connected to a series of rainbow afros and maid costumes. Then there was that corner dedicated to the Gothic, stacked with skulls and handcuffs ….

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Let me tour you around, then you tell me it’s a bookstore.

These are chocolates, not a fish.

A plapen case, nope not playpen. Do not google playpen.

Yakult gummy?! They also have a BIG one, like really big.

And a lot of cat stuff. *sigh

Toothpaste, to make it simple. BUT they have 30 flavors to choose from like kiwi, banana, mocha, etc.

and curry, yep. CURRY. Ukh.

Finally, I found the book station!

You can by Happy bags during New Year, I guess these are leftovers, basically the items inside are secret and you will only find out when you buy the item.

These are pens, don’t get fooled.

They also sell posters, at first I thought they sell it like that, I mean the frames included but nope they aren’t.

Those pictures only show a bit of what’s inside Village Vanguard, we spent over an hour just looking at at random stuff. The store is really amazing and just looking at them is really enjoyable. If you’re a collector, you can find stuff here you can add to your collection, if you like weird things you’re in the right place and if ou just simply like kawaii things, well, you can find them here. If you visit Japan and looking for omeyage, this is also a good place, the items are not that cheap but some are, so I recommend dropping by. Hehe. This isn’t a sponsored post. Just hoping. Lol.

Btw they have a website, just incase you’re curious 😀

Bored Sensei.

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