Thoughts: 4 Bookstores in Asia [Bookworm, Poplar, VVG Something and Daikanyama T-Site] Made it to the 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World

     I am crazy about books...and as much as I love to read, I am most happy when I am browsing shelves upon shelves of books.  Most especially if the bookstore is pretty.  I get depressed when the books don't get the proper respect they deserve, really.  I cringe when my book has a dent, a folded page, or worse, a tear on the page or cover.  I shudder just thinking that books are just stacked haphazardly in fugly, dust-covered shelves; moreso when it's the bookstore itself that has no regard for the books' well-being.

     Yes, I am quite OC about books and being quite discerning when it comes to bookstores, where I buy my books, comes with the territory, of being OC, that is.  I mean, I could stay at a well-lighted, well-designed bookstore for hours, so I was really hyped when I saw an article about the The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World by Flavorwire website.  I mean, bookstores!  Pretty, lovely bookstores!  I'm in book heaven!

     An excerpt of the article/list from Flavorwire is quoted here:

     "With Amazon slowly taking over the publishing world and bookstores closing left and right, things can sometimes seem a little grim for the brick and mortar booksellers of the world. After all, why would anyone leave the comfort of their couch to buy a book when with just a click of a button, they could have it delivered to their door? Well, here’s why: bookstores so beautiful they’re worth getting out of the house (or the country) to visit whether you need a new hardcover or not. We can’t overestimate the importance of bookstores — they’re community centers, places to browse and discover, and monuments to literature all at once — so we’ve put together a list of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, from Belgium to Japan to Slovakia. Just so you know now, all you bookstore fiends: neither the Strand nor Powell’s is on this list. They’re both great bookstores, of course, but not particularly pretty (at least in our minds), and thus disqualified. Click through to see our picks for the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and as always, if we’ve left off your favorite, be sure to add to the collection in the comments!"

     And, I got all happier when 4 bookstores in Asia made the cut, 2 in Beijing, China, 1 in Japan, and 1 in Taiwan.  So great, right?  Since, this is an Asian travel blog, I'll only discuss the 4 bookstores in Asia as mentioned.  Include these bookstores in your "places of interest" which you may want to visit while in Beijing, Taipei or Tokyo.

     So, here it goes:

     BEIJING, CHINA

     The Bookworm, Beijing

     "There’s magic in the air at this English-language bookstore in Beijing. Bookworm, Beijing, China."

     The first thought that popped into my head was: "Oh, Hogwarts!"  Yeah, really, the "floating" candles really struck me.  The illusion, though, was more twinkling stars in the night sky.  Very divine, don't you think?

     Here are a couple of photos from The Bookworm's website.  Apparently, it is not only a bookstore but a library, bar, restaurant and events space as well.

     Anyway, here's the About Us excerpt from The Bookworm's website:

A bustling hive of literary activity, The Bookworm is forever expandineag its book offering – at the last count, we were able to boast 16,112 titles on our library shelves.

Our bookshop offers a wide range of sometimes surprising tomes, and our talks continue to beguile our audiences. Our restaurant is well loved for its tasty-yet-value-for-money menu, and spontaneous musical evenings are apt to bubble up from nowhere. 

It’s easy to see why The Bookworm is such a hit among Beijingers; where else can you while away the hours savouring fabulous fare, browsing thousands of books, sipping good espresso, being regaled by eminent authors, catching up with friends over your favourite tipple, or simply just checking your emails? The spacious, interconnecting rooms with floor-to-ceiling books on every wall are light and airy in summer, yet cosy and snug in winter. And the roof terrace is perfect for yard-arm cocktails. 

Booklovers, old China hands, newcomers, students and business travellers alike unite at The Bookworm. Our coffee’s always freshly ground, our chocolate cake voluptuous and our staff delightful. 

So, why not drop in sometime and join us?

      Apparently, The Bookworm now has branches in Suzhou and Chengdu.  However, if you want to visit the Beijing branch, here's its address and contact information:

Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road,

Chaoyang District, Beijing

100027, P.R China

Tel: (010) 6586 9507

Email: books@beijingbookworm.com

Web: http://beijingbookworm.com

Directions to The Bookworm Beijing by Car, Bike or Foot (very detailed):

From Tuanjiehu Subway Station: Exit at the Pacific Century Plaza exit, on Gongti Bei Lu.

1. Head West along Gongti Bei Lu to the intersection of Nan Sanlitun Lu and Sanlitun Bei Lu.

2. Turn South onto Nan Sanlitun Lu and walk 200 metres (passing The Rickshaw on your left) to the first small turning on your Left. (Be careful not to walk too far South on Nansanlitun).

3.You will find The Bookworm, a large green building on your immediate Right. If you reach Banana Leaf, you've gone too far - we're between Banana Leaf and the main road.

From Gong Ren Ti Yu Cheng (The Worker's Stadium): 

1. Head East passing China View on the South side of the road, and 200 metres later, pass Ya Show Clothing Market on the North side. 

2. When you reach the intersection of Nan Sanlitun Lu and Sanlitun Bei Lu (approx 0.5km from The Worker's Stadium), turn South onto Nan Sanlitun Lu and walk 200 metres (passing The Rickshaw on your left) to the first small left turning on your Left. (Be careful not to walk too far South on Nansanlitun).

3.You will find The Bookworm, a large green building on your immediate Right. If you reach Banana Leaf, you've gone too far - we're between Banana Leaf and the main road.

BEIJING, CHINA

Poplar

     "How could any kid (or adult, for that matter) resist those delicious reading nooks? Poplar Kid’s Republic, Beijing, China."

     This one is special; it's designed for kids.  I mean, this is a sure way to get kids fall in love with books and reading.  Just look at the reading area!  Yup, this may very well be a good diversion rather than playing computer games day in and day out.  Ah, to be a kid.  

     A couple of photos from Poplar's website: 

    From Poplar's About Us page: 

Introduction of the Company 

The Beijing POPLAR Culture Project Co.,Ltd (BPCPC) was established in July,2004, by the Poplar Publishing Co., Ltd., which is the largest professional children’s book publishing company in Japan. 

Against the background that more attention is put on international cooperation, the BPCPC devotes itself to the creation and development of a new children as well as picture book culture. In the information era as we are in now, the children’s world accordingly is becoming diversified and more internationalized. We take children as the future pillars of each society and the hope of the world peace. In order to help them grow up healthily, we would launch various forms of international cooperation. With the mission to communicate the colorful and abounding culture, which is so indispensable to a meaningful life, to children, we hope to contribute our efforts to a better future for children, with the assistance of our Chinese friends.  

In the middle of Oct. 2005, Kid’s Republic, the picture book store of BPCPC, opened in Jianwai SOHO community, Beijing. It has become the first specialized picture book store in China. With the aim to supply the children and parents with the top of the best children’s books as well as a relaxing reading environment, not only plenty of carefully chosen Chinese and foreign children’s books are available in Kid’s Republic, a special reading room assembling excellent original version of picture books from all over the world is also established. Meanwhile, a Reader’s Club has been formed and various fun activities relating early reading have been launched. The club also periodically provides early reading information up to date.

In China's children book stores, there are many kinds of books available for children, but more and more people feel something important is missed in most of them, something that touches the heart naturally or some naive enthusiasm. Therefore, we want to introduce picture books, this special art form which has a long history in Western countries and often enjoyed by different generations together, to Chinese children. We hope these fine craft stories and art works nurture their hearts and spirits, and bring them an imaginative childhood.

Here's Poplar's store information and directions on how to reach there:

Store Hours

• Open everyday

• Summer (May 1st – sep. 31st) 10:00 am – 19:00 pm

• Winter (oct.1st – Apr.30th) 10:00am – 18:30 pm

• For more Information, please call: 010- 5869-3032

How to get here?

• Add: the First Floor, Building 13th, Jianwai SOHO Community, No.39 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Beijing (Opposite the China World Hotel;At the South Side of the Chang An Avenue; Close to GuoMao Subway Station; Southwest of the Guomao Bridge. Please note, It ‘s NOT SOHO New Town)

• Main Bus Route: Take 28, 57, 705, 703, 801, 976 to Da Bei Yao Nan Station, On the West of the road is Jianwai SOHO Community.

• By Metro：Line 1 Guomao Station, use exit Cand walk 100 meters West.At the path to the South opposite the Jinglun Hotle, look for the sign that says with “Jianwai SOHO”.

• Parking Lot：Base 2 of Tower 13, Jianwai SOHO. Free parking ticket available. 

TAIPEI, TAIWAN

 VVG Something

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/tendertiger/4721388082/#

"Almost utilitarian but filled with simple old-world grace, this store is a little like what we might imagine our ideal ship’s main cabin to look like. VVG Something, Taipei, Taiwan."

     Oh, this one's small, but pretty!  How come I haven't been to it before?  Anyway, I've roamed around one of the Eslite branches in Taipei, but it'll definitely be a treat to visit this bookstore.  Look at the details!  I'll want my private library to look like this.  Before I forget, VVG means "very, very good."

     I've scoured the internet for details about this lovely bookstore and found out that it has a cafe, too!  Also, from the blog of one of the owner's friend, "nanamoose:  m-u-s-i-n-g-s", I was able to learn some facts about the VVG Something bookstore.  An excerpt from the blog post entitled, Taipei Finds: VVG Something, can be found here:

"A cute little addition to the VVG empire that occupies one end of Alley 40 on Lane 181, VVG Something sells beautifully bound, imported hardbacks on gastronomy, along with random household knickknacks like old typewriters, ice-shavers, copper teapots from India, enameled brassware from Poland, and handmade stationary from Japan. If this doesn't already send you pacing out the door to go find it, add bright red French doors, white brick walls a big fat lamps with a black shade, and an oh-so-cute coffee counter that reminds you of an old ticketing booth.

The coffee here comes in gargantuan sizes, so pack up a good book, or simply flip through the ones available here, and while away a rainy afternoon in the company of Some Very Very Good Things."

      For more wonderful photos, you can check out nanamoose: m-u-s-i-n-g-s blog here: http://nanamoose.typepad.com/musings/2011/07/taipei-finds-vvg-something.html.  Or to this blog, entitled the Cookie Cutter here: http://thecookiecutterblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/taipei-vvg-something.html.

      Contact information for the VVG Something bookstore:

VVG Something is at 13, Alley 40, Lane 181, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Daan District, Taipei

台北市忠孝東路四段181巷40弄13號

Tel: (02) 2773 1358

      If you're getting off at Zhongxiao Dunhua Station, it's a 4 minute walk from the exit (via Google maps).

TOKYO, JAPAN

 Daikanyama T-Site

"This slick, super-modern store benefits from clean design and charming flourishes of light and mirrors. Daikanyama T-Site, Tokyo, Japan."

     And, this is Daikanyama T-Site, T apparently means, Tsutaya, if I read the Google translated website of this bookstore correctly.  Also, this is more than just a bookstore; it is a complex of stores, and I think, even a pet salon, again, if I read the Google translation correctly.  This one is super sleak, very modern.  So pretty!

     Here are some other photos from its website:

      And here's the link to the CNNGo article about Daikanyama T-Site if you want to know more about it: http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/shop/tokyos-stunning-palace-printed-word-334326.

     Here's instructions on how to reach the complex:

T-SITE Daikanyama Address

Ya ivy bookstore
Sarugakucho, 17-5, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 〒 150-0033

GARDEN
Sarugakucho 16-15, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 〒 150-0033

How to access 

Train
5 minutes walk from the "station" Daikanyama Tokyu Toyoko Line 

Bus
"Shibuya Station" Toranse Tokyu
"T Daikanyama site" → 

Car
5 minutes from the "Shibuya Station" JR Yamanote Line

Taxi
5 minutes from the "Shibuya Station" JR Yamanote Line

Beijing Adventures - Shopping in Beijing

  Astroboy at a mall in Wangfujing.

   It took me so long before I had the time to blog again.  I was hoping to wrap-up my Beijing Adventures before February but certain circumstances didn't allow me to do so.  I was so busy with work (I do have a day job which pays not only for my basic needs, but also for my wants and caprices, including my travels).  And I was sick the past two weeks (allergies; cough and cold).  Really.  I mean it.  Well, okay, let's just say that there's a little procrastination thrown in...little is relative, though.  Heehee.

     I think, this is going to be my last post about my travel adventures in Beijing, and it's about shopping in Beijing! 

Beijing Adventures - Day 4: Yuanmingyuan

     Remember when I said that I wore everyday summer clothing underneath my trench coat and skirts plus non-thermal tights in Beijing?  It really worked for me.  I felt a little cold sometimes but it was tolerable.  So, on our 4th day, I decided to ditch the trench, just like what I did on the 3rd day, and I used a  heavy cardigan instead  Upon stepping a foot out of our hotel, my other foot quickly turned around, dragging me back inside.  It was freaking cold!  The winds were having quite a party...it was so windy and so damn cold!  So, we all went back to our room and added some more layers.  I had no thermals so I put on my trench instead, again.  Problem solved.

     Finding the Old Summer Palace was a cinch - we hailed a cab, that's why.  There's a subway stop at Yuanmingyuan but taking a cab is more comfortable.  Ha!  The cabbie was polite and he would point to us landmarks we passed by, probably because he knew we were tourists.  He pointed to us hutongs being demolished, the Peking University, yup, in English, and Tsinghua University, among others.  He gave us a printed receipt showing the date, time, duration and cost of travel, like all the other cabs we've ridden in Beijing. 

     So, we've reached a gate of the Old Summer Palace.  We bought the costliest tickets so we could see the ruins and everything else.  Most of the visitors bought the cheapest ones, though.  You can buy tickets per section, too.  Anyway, I don't know which gate we entered but it was near the subway exit and the Visitor's Center.

     We went inside and I started feeling giddy.  We were in a very historic site, and a shadow of regret came upon me.  How could the invaders destroy the Palace?  Ah, when you go there you'd see for yourself traces of its former splendor; its beauty, however, remains intact.  The gardens are vast and walking along the lake, on a very cold day  with trees swaying in the air and water gently lapping, you'd wish that you're with someone you love.  It is also a perfect place to meditate, weave dreams, or cry you heart out; the beauty of your surroundings would surely lift your spirit.  Yuanmingyuan is actually kinda romantic, I think.  If you can withstand the cold.

     Victor Hugo had his view known about the looting and destruction of Yuanmingyuan:

The sack of the Summer Palace

To Captain Butler
Hauteville House,

25 November, 1861

You ask my opinion, Sir, about the China expedition. You consider this expedition to be honourable and glorious, and you have the kindness to attach some consideration to my feelings; according to you, the China expedition, carried out jointly under the flags of Queen Victoria and the Emperor Napoleon, is a glory to be shared between France and England, and you wish to know how much approval I feel I can give to this English and French victory.

Since you wish to know my opinion, here it is:

There was, in a corner of the world, a wonder of the world; this wonder was called the Summer Palace. Art has two principles, the Idea, which produces European art, and the Chimera, which produces oriental art. The Summer Palace was to chimerical art what the Parthenon is to ideal art. All that can be begotten of the imagination of an almost extra-human people was there. It was not a single, unique work like the Parthenon. It was a kind of enormous model of the chimera, if the chimera can have a model. Imagine some inexpressible construction, something like a lunar building, and you will have the Summer Palace. Build a dream with marble, jade, bronze and porcelain, frame it with cedar wood, cover it with precious stones, drape it with silk, make it here a sanctuary, there a harem, elsewhere a citadel, put gods there, and monsters, varnish it, enamel it, gild it, paint it, have architects who are poets build the thousand and one dreams of the thousand and one nights, add gardens, basins, gushing water and foam, swans, ibis, peacocks, suppose in a word a sort of dazzling cavern of human fantasy with the face of a temple and palace, such was this building. The slow work of generations had been necessary to create it. This edifice, as enormous as a city, had been built by the centuries, for whom? For the peoples. For the work of time belongs to man. Artists, poets and philosophers knew the Summer Palace; Voltaire talks of it. People spoke of the Parthenon in Greece, the pyramids in Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, Notre-Dame in Paris, the Summer Palace in the Orient. If people did not see it they imagined it. It was a kind of tremendous unknown masterpiece, glimpsed from the distance in a kind of twilight, like a silhouette of the civilization of Asia on the horizon of the civilization of Europe.

 This wonder has disappeared.

One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly. Mixed up in all this is the name of Elgin, which inevitably calls to mind the Parthenon. What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better, so that nothing of it should be left. All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient. It contained not only masterpieces of art, but masses of jewelry. What a great exploit, what a windfall! One of the two victors filled his pockets; when the other saw this he filled his coffers. And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits.

We Europeans are the civilized ones, and for us the Chinese are the barbarians. This is what civilization has done to barbarism.

Before history, one of the two bandits will be called France; the other will be called England. But I protest, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity! the crimes of those who lead are not the fault of those who are led; Governments are sometimes bandits, peoples never. 

The French empire has pocketed half of this victory, and today with a kind of proprietorial naivety it displays the splendid bric-a-brac of the Summer Palace. I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China.

Meanwhile, there is a theft and two thieves.

I take note.

This, Sir, is how much approval I give to the China expedition.

COPYRIGHT 1985 UNESCO

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

    

Yuanmingyuan Gate

 Yuanmingyuan Map

Pavilion

The Ruins

  

Beijing Adventures - Day 3: Wangfujing at Night, and Street Food, Too

 There are a lot of people on this food street.

It closes around 7 or 8 p.m.

      Our guide said that there's a night street food stalls located in the Wangfujing area, very close to our hotel.  So, my friend and I went out to see what the buzz was all about.  I've seen tons of pictures of those creepy crawlers on stick, and I was so excited to finally see those in real life.

     What creepy crawlers? Anything you can imagine.  In fact, it was not limited to creepy crawlers, but even those which you don't think would end up as a street food ended up as such in Beijing.  Even starfish!  Look!

     

     Of course I didn't buy any.  I didn't want to eat a starfish. Who can eat that?  It's so cute, I couldn't eat it. But I've seen some caucasians eating one of those, though.  Probably just for the sake of tasting something exotic.  Even if I could have eaten some other street food, like broccoli and cauliflower on stick, I didn't.  I didn't even eat those sugared fruits on stick though they looked so yummy.  I don't really have a sweet tooth, so even if they look cute, my tooth aches just by looking at them.  Heehee.  And yeah, I thought the red balls on stick was sausage.  I mean, here in the Philippines, in Cebu to be particular, the local chorizo is small and round, just like the ones in the picture below.  And, there's one that looks a little paler, but similar, in Taipei, which is a sausage, too, but it turns out, the one in Beijing was a candy. 

      So, how does Wangfujing looks at night?  Well, it looks pretty, but it isn't something that'll blow you away.  There are a lot of malls on the strip, and a lot of people, and I would have wanted to watch Harry Potter at the malls but the movie tickets cost way more than what a 3d movie in the Philippines cost.  There's also this mall with a huge Christmas tree and light bulbs outside.  It was so cute...I even had the audacity to take pictures of a stranger who was trying to have her photo taken.  Heehee.

Beijing Adventures - Day 3: Riding the Subway During Rush Hour, the Bird's Nest and The Water Cube

     

     I had this idea to go to the Bird's Nest and the Cube via the subway.  I  mean, there's a subway station going to the Olympic Sports Center, so, might as well try riding the subway.  Well, it turned out to be a not-so-great idea.  You see, from our hotel, the Wangfujing Station is like a 15-minute walk, or so it seemed.  Then, it was rush hour, around 5:00 p.m.  The subway's clean and all, but it was packed!  We managed to get into a train even if it seemed impossible to get into an already full carriage.  It was so filled to the brim!  It's like the MRT along EDSA during rush hour, with thousands of passengers more who do not seem to cease coming.  It's an incessant and constant flow of people.  

     While it was as tight as inside a can of sardines, personally, I didn't get squashed, pushed, pulled or bodily harmed intentionally or not.  In fact, even if there seemed to be no more room at all, people still made way for the new passengers to get inside.  I felt the people in Beijing are far more polite and chivalrous because of that.  If there was anyone who tried to push and squeeze her way out, that would have been me.  But the people in the carriages didn't mind to be accidentally pushed, squashed or pulled.  It was as if it was part of their daily commute.

     We had to change lines a couple of times and there was this one station where we had to pass through a funnel-like entrance that people had to walk side-by-side, with slow, little steps, until we reached the other side.  It was such an experience.  I can proudly say that I've ridden the subway during rush hours on a work-day and I survived!  It was such a feat.  Heehee.     

     Well, too bad that I wasn't able to take pictures because you see, time is of the essence.  Everyone was scurrying.  The stream of people would not allow for a leisurely pace and for snapping pictures.  That'll be rude to those who are on a hurry to head home.  I was able bodied so I didn't have a reason to be slow.

    We reached our end station and we walked a considerable distance to the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest.  Both structures are stunning at a distance; moreso at a closer look.  The one looks fiery; the other looks calm.  The reds and the blues.  There were a lot of policemen on duty, so again, I felt so secure.  I felt more secure in Beijing than here in Manila, really.

     I think it was almost 7:00 p.m. when we reached the Olympic sites.  My friends were hungry and tired.  I think we only spent about an hour there, and we asked a policeman where we could go and hail a cab.  We don't know if he understood us but he motioned to the sort of highway that passes in the middle going to the other end of the Bird's Nest.  We dutifully followed the directions given us and it was also a long walk, and a little farther would have brought us to a huge hotel.  But thanks to that, I was able to get a better view of the Bird's Nest.  

     We hailed a cab on the main street; there were not a lot of people; well, just us and some others.  And there was this one freak, a young local it seems, who was shouting something in English; something like, "Hey missy!  Do you understand English?"  My friends didn't hear him call because they were busy hailing a cab.  I didn't think he was speaking to us; he was on the other side of the road for crying out loud.  As we got into the cab, I heard the freak started shouting, "Fuck you!"  I was like, was he talking to us?  Was he insane talking to girls like that?  Then I remembered what @ commoner  over at Pinoy Exchange Beijing thread once said. Guess it might be one of those overly-enthusiastic English-speaking locals who approach tourists...he's probably up to no good.  I mean, why the heck would you call out to someone from the other side of the freaking road and then then tell them to fuck off? Geez!  I was so damn pissed that I wanted to get out of the cab and kick the prick in his groin.  I think he thought we don't understand English because we weren't paying attention to him, so he started cursing at us for fun.

     Finally, there is another thing that I learned during our adventure to the Olympic site; procrastinators have no place in Beijing.  One must really walk, endure, walk and then walk some more whether or not you use a cab or the public transportation.  Either way, we walked a lot.  The same goes true with the other famous places in Beijing, like the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, among others.