Where to find Japanese ebooks?

mlkmnz · 07-14-2009, 05:41 AM

I'm just asking on behalf of someone else, does anyone know where to obtain Japanese language ebooks - like an online store or something? They're expat Japanese and physical Japanese books are hard to find here.

ReaderTom · 07-15-2009, 05:27 AM

Posted here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50825
you'll also find your way to this offer:
http://worldebookfair.org/Japanese_eBook_Library.htm

Tom

igorsk · 07-15-2009, 11:54 AM

Quoting myself:

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorsk

Actually, there are plenty of current Japanese ebooks available (and a lot of e-manga), but they mostly use formats which are currently not convertible. Two most prominent right now seem dotBook and XMDF. Here's a few links to shops.
インプレスジャパンダイレクト http://direct.ips.co.jp/book/impressjapan.cfm
ウェブの書斎 http://www.shosai.ne.jp/
電子書店パピレス http://www.papy.co.jp/
BitwayBooks http://books.bitway.ne.jp/
PDAbook http://pdabook.jp/pdabook/
楽天ダウンロード http://dl.rakuten.co.jp/book/
SpaceTownブックス http://books.spacetown.ne.jp/sst/

And of course, the Japanese counterpart to Project Gutenberg is Aozora Bunko: http://www.aozora.gr.jp/

mlkmnz · 07-15-2009, 06:56 PM

Cheers for the help guys.

Igorsk, do you know what devices will run the books available at the link you mentioned - something like the LIBRIe?

Long story, but my Dad is wanting to by his Japanese girlfriend an ebook reader as a gift, but I want to make sure it's the right device with access to a decent library. And it's supposed to be a secret and my Kanji reading comprehension is pretty lacklustre.

igorsk · 07-16-2009, 06:08 AM

XMDF has viewers for Windows, PocketPC and Palm. dotBook viewers are available for Windows, Mac, PocketPC and Palm. The only dedicated reader (that I know of) that supported those two formats was the now-out-of-production Words Gear.
So, unless you're interested in only classics from Aozora Bunko (those can be converted and read on almost any device), right now I don't think there exists a dedicated reader that is useful for Japanese ebooks.

mlkmnz · 07-16-2009, 07:58 PM

Pretty weird they don't have much of an ebook reader market given I forever see prototypes from Japanese companies for new devices.

Back to the drawing board. Unless you know of somewhere that sells Words Gears? I couldn't find any on eBay.

CleverClothe · 07-16-2009, 11:24 PM

You should add that list to the wiki.

07-14-2009, 05:41 AM	#1
mlkmnz Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2006 Device: Ebookwise 1150, Sony Reader	Where to find Japanese ebooks? I'm just asking on behalf of someone else, does anyone know where to obtain Japanese language ebooks - like an online store or something? They're expat Japanese and physical Japanese books are hard to find here.

07-16-2009, 07:58 PM	#6
mlkmnz Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2006 Device: Ebookwise 1150, Sony Reader	Pretty weird they don't have much of an ebook reader market given I forever see prototypes from Japanese companies for new devices. Back to the drawing board. Unless you know of somewhere that sells Words Gears? I couldn't find any on eBay. Last edited by mlkmnz; 07-16-2009 at 08:00 PM.

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07-15-2009, 05:27 AM	#2
ReaderTom Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: iRex DR1000S; Sony PRS-505	Posted here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50825 you'll also find your way to this offer: http://worldebookfair.org/Japanese_eBook_Library.htm Tom

07-15-2009, 06:56 PM	#4
mlkmnz Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2006 Device: Ebookwise 1150, Sony Reader	Cheers for the help guys. Igorsk, do you know what devices will run the books available at the link you mentioned - something like the LIBRIe? Long story, but my Dad is wanting to by his Japanese girlfriend an ebook reader as a gift, but I want to make sure it's the right device with access to a decent library. And it's supposed to be a secret and my Kanji reading comprehension is pretty lacklustre.

07-16-2009, 06:08 AM	#5
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	XMDF has viewers for Windows, PocketPC and Palm. dotBook viewers are available for Windows, Mac, PocketPC and Palm. The only dedicated reader (that I know of) that supported those two formats was the now-out-of-production Words Gear. So, unless you're interested in only classics from Aozora Bunko (those can be converted and read on almost any device), right now I don't think there exists a dedicated reader that is useful for Japanese ebooks.

07-16-2009, 11:24 PM	#7
CleverClothe Guru Posts: 618 Karma: 493394 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Device: iRex iLiad, Onyx Boox 60	You should add that list to the wiki.

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