Hey, this is mostly a question to folk who live in the UK but does anyone know where I can buy Japanese language manga? All the manga I have found online is English translations -__-

I have stuff on my iPod but I much prefer having the real thing to read. I tried Japan Centre but all I've got from there is cooking magazines XD

Thanks for any suggestions (if there are European shops that sell I would be interested also).

http://www.yesasia.com sells a lot of japanese language manga.
If you buy some in a bunch, they also offer free shipping ($40+ orders).

I used to just use Japan Centre and yesasia, but now I just find it easier to use http://www.amazon.co.jp since I can find pretty much anything I could possibly want on there.

In regards to using Japan Centre and only getting cooking magazines, did you look on this page?
http://www.japancentre.com/?cmd=cat&cid=66
I got a couple of the monthly magazines myself, because there are lots of different mangas in them and each one is large enough to last me quite some time.

I recommend ordering directly from Japan. bk1 is awesome for that. They charge the actual shipping cost. Unfortunately that also means you won't know how much it's going to be when you order, but if you choose SAL and limit yourself to parcels of less than 2 kg (6-8 manga depending on size) it's so cheap it made my local manga reseller cry

Amazon.co.jp is not a good idea, the shipping prices are insane.

Let's say you buy 3 volumes of manga, that's 3 books. Not only do you pay 300 yen per item in handling charge (300 yen is even more money than what a manga volume should cost!), you also pay the actual shipping price of books to Europe, which is over 3000 yen.

Summary: If you buy 3 manga volumes for 200 yen each, you pay 600 yen for the books, and over 4000 yen for shipping.

Good deal? Nope.

Tobberoth Wrote:Amazon.co.jp is not a good idea, the shipping prices are insane.

Let's say you buy 3 volumes of manga, that's 3 books. Not only do you pay 300 yen per item in handling charge (300 yen is even more money than what a manga volume should cost!), you also pay the actual shipping price of books to Europe, which is over 3000 yen.

Summary: If you buy 3 manga volumes for 200 yen each, you pay 600 yen for the books, and over 4000 yen for shipping.

Good deal? Nope.

Unless you're buying used, 300 yen is below retail cost for manga.

But yes, the shipping will kill your joy

you could try buying used manga in yahoo auctions japan (yes, you can't buy there if you don't live in Japan, but there's a way...)

Codexus Wrote:I recommend ordering directly from Japan. bk1 is awesome for that. They charge the actual shipping cost. Unfortunately that also means you won't know how much it's going to be when you order, but if you choose SAL and limit yourself to parcels of less than 2 kg (6-8 manga depending on size) it's so cheap it made my local manga reseller cry

I also recommend bk1. That is, if you want Manga from Japan at good prices. Just make sure not to pick one of the higher priced shipping options, and you should be fine with them. It took less than 2 weeks to get my order using SAL (I live in the U.S.).

if u have a large library check their semi annual book sales.

I live in London and there are four main methods I use to get Japanese manga and books:

1) The Japan Centre in Piccadilly. The book shop in the basement there sells manga and books. Actually I wouldn't recommend this place anymore, as it is quite expensive and the selection is limited. Still, it is worth a look.

2) Mitsukoshi department store in Piccadilly. The book shop in the basement of this store seems to be larger and better than the Japan Centre. It has a better selection, plus they were super helpful last time I went there and ordered a number of books for me from Japan at no extra cost. Prices generally are similar to the Japan Centre.

3) There is a second hand Japanese book store in Soho. I'm not sure what it is called, it doesn't seem to have any signs at all outside, but if you look in the window on the way past you can clearly see all the manga on display. They have a large selection of books and manga, although some of them are pretty naff. Still, it is a good place to pick up box sets of manga fairly cheap. I bought a 24 volume box set of a manga series there recently for something like £50.

4) BK1. As mentioned above, they deliver quickly and cheaply to the UK and this is probably the cheapest and most reliable way to get a large selection of manga in the UK. I have only used it once so far, but I was very satisfied and suprised by the low cost, and I intend to use it again.