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+--- Thread: any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? (/thread-12290.html)
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - Crovaz - 2014-10-27
I don't have a Kindle e-reader, and I just want to read these books on my pc.
On other nations' amazon stores I can just buy them and read them via Kindle's windows app on my pc; this doesn't seem to exist as an option on Amazon.jp.
Anybody knows if there is a way to do this?
EDIT: Just in case anybody with a similar issue stumbles on this topic: I've started buying e-books through Rakuten Japan. You can read the books you purchase there via Kobo's desktop app. This way, I can finally use all the kanji-recognition software and dictionaries I have on my Pc to speed up my reading/learning experience!
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - ktcgx - 2014-10-27
Yep, if you get an amazon.co.jp account, and then go to amazon.com, you'll probably be prompted to merge your accounts, so you can read books from both sites. Happened to me recently (within the last week).
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - vix86 - 2014-10-27
No smartphone?
EDIT: I can't see how merging would be a good idea. There have to be agreements on region copyright. ie: Some manga won't be available on kindle in Japan because of copyright/licensing in the US, etc.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - ktcgx - 2014-10-27
Well, the information given by amazon when I clicked ok to merge (even though I've actually never bought any books from amazon.jp) was that books bought on the .jp website would be available on my PC kindle app which is linked to my .com account. I didn't read too closely though, so I might have missed something.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - Crovaz - 2014-10-27
vix86 Wrote:No smartphone?I do have a smartphone. But I would much prefer read japanese books at my pc for now, considering how demanding it still is, and how often I need to look up words.
Obviously, having them on my iphone is better than nothing.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - vix86 - 2014-10-27
I've never done it (I read on an android tablet so its fine). But if you can find/access the data file folder for kindle on your phone, then you can copy the book files that you have bought to your computer and remove the DRM from them.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-10-27
Are your com and co.jp accounts using the same email address? If so, try either creating a VPN connection on your PC to Japan (you'll need OpenVPN or similar software), and then logging in to Kindle for PC; or, change your co.jp account to use a new email address. According to rich_f, doing the latter forces the Kindle apps to search for an Amazon region that can service your account.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - rich_f - 2014-10-28
I've had good luck with the Kindle with *not* merging my accounts, and using different email addresses. But yeah, that's with the Kindle devices, and doing purchases over a VPN generally. And maintaining a Japanese address, which is required for Kindle purchases from the JP store.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-10-28
Also, if you sign up and register a device for kindle (any device), you can then use read.amazon.co.jp, aka the Cloud Reader.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - NickT - 2014-10-28
You can't read Japanese books on the Cloud Reader, or on the Kindle for PC App, even once you've managed to buy them. For some reason those programs don't support Japanese text.
You can only read your Japanese purchased books on certain devices, such as Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire or Kindle App for Android. Older Kindles also don't support Japanese.
You can at least now read Japanese manga purchased from amazon.co.jp on the Cloud Read on the computer (I just checked), which is progress, as I have never been able to do that up until now. No luck with the actual Japanese books though. English books all seem to work fine, even if they were purchased from the .co.jp store.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - kameden - 2014-10-28
I was trying this yesterday. I used a proxy to "buy" some free books from the store, synced it to my iPod and it worked, but whenever I tried to log into Kindle For PC it would give me an error.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - gaiaslastlaugh - 2014-10-28
Huh, you're right. That sucks.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - Crovaz - 2014-10-28
Thanks everybody for your ideas.
Unfortunately:
1) Amazon.jp Kindle Cloud Reader only works with certain mangas and light novels; not with books.
2) These ebooks are in KCP format, which can't be accessed by anything other than a kindle device; Consequently, I can't convert them/DRM strip them.
I haven't tried merging accounts yet, because, honestly, I made this amazon.jp account (my second) just to buy japanese ebooks using a VPN. Though I'm not sure I understand how that would help with accessing on pc the ebooks I bought.
Another idea I had was to mirror my iphone's screen on my pc. This way I would be able to read on a much bigger screen and use Kanjitomo for kanji look ups.
What a f----- hassle though... I just wish it were possible to buy DRM-free japanese ebooks. Reading stuff on the internet (and using Rikaichan) gets boring after a while; And with actual, physical books it just takes so damn long to manually look up each unknown kanji.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - rich_f - 2014-10-28
Used Paperwhites are pretty cheap. $60 or so, and no problems so far. (Got mine about six months ago.)
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - jhutasoit - 2015-01-15
I've just got a Kindle Paperwhite and I was buying some Japanese comic books yesterday (I'm in Europe but do have a Japanese address). I didn't have any problem but today when I was trying to buy more books, I encountered a problem and the error message said that I was trying to buy the books from a region that is different from what I used in my account. So how do I buy book from Amazon Japan while staying outside of Japan then? I saw some people mentioned VPN but I'm not sure how to use this to purchase books while I'm not in Japan.
any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - rich_f - 2015-01-15
Usually after 5 books, it seems like most people who don't use VPNs have problems.
To use a VPN, first you need to find a VPN service provider who has a server in Japan. (I use TorGuard, and they have Japanese servers, along with a bunch of others. You only need the VPN service, you don't need their BitTorrent service, unless you want it.)
Sign up for the service, then follow the instructions for the device of your choice. The instructions vary depending on whether you're using a computer or a tablet/phone. (Don't use the Paperwhite.) You could set up your router to use the VPN service, I suppose, but some VPNs may not support that. It also depends on your router firmware. I know DD-WRT supports it. The downside is that ALL of your internet traffic will get funneled through the VPN, and everything will slow to a crawl. VPNs are slow.
Essentially, you want to set up a machine to access the VPN, and use it to buy the content. Amazon or whoever will see your IP, and think, "Oh, that's in Japan. Approved!" and okay your purchase. Then you can download it from your Paperwhite without the VPN if you want. (Because you've already purchased it.)
Tin Foil Hat Route: Now, if you *really* want to be paranoid about it, put your Paperwhite in Airplane mode, and leave it there when you use it. Only take it out of Airplane mode to download books. And only download books a day or so after buying them. (In case someone wrote a smart little program to check for instantaneous downloads from a foreign IP!) But like I said, that's the paranoid route.
Also, none of this guaranteed to work, and it's subject to change at the drop of a hat. Welcome to the world of mass media controlled by clueless megacorporations. It's been 8-9 years or so since eInk eBooks became a Thing, and they still don't know how to stop tripping over their own feet. *sigh*
RE: any way to buy amazon.jp ebooks without having a kindle device? - DarkEagle - 2016-04-27
i use SoftEther VPN Client + VPN Gate Client Plugin, it's free.