Japanese e-book stores?

FNHA · 09-11-2012, 02:23 PM

Hello, does anyone here know of any online stores that sell Japanese e-books and accept international purchases? The kind I'm looking for specifically is light novels, and those that use Android apps are fine too.

I've tried a few, but Book Walker does not accept my credit card, Kinokuniya requires Japanese mail addresses to register, and Galapagos does not have the books I want. If there are none, does anyone know why the existing stores don't accept credit cards outside of Japan?

Kumabjorn · 09-11-2012, 03:02 PM

I see you have the Sony PRS-T1, so do I. But I have the Japanese firmware, this lets me connect to Sony's Japanese Bookstore over WiFi. I had no problem registering there with a non-Japanese e-mail address nor problem with using non-Japanese CC.

So you might try loading the Japanese firmware. Should that not be possible it is absolutely no problem registering for a Japanese e-mail address with Yahoo Japan, and then you can buy from Kinokuniya.

PS Ohh, I see this is your first posting. Welcome to Mobileread.

FNHA · 09-11-2012, 03:28 PM

Is it possible to load the Japanese firmware on the English PRS-T1? I don't think I saw any definite details on the device forums, so I didn't dare try.

I do have a Yahoo Japan email, but I think Kinokuniya requires the address that comes with a Japanese phone number (eg @docomo.ne.jp or something similar) as well as a Japanese land address. I could go and check again, but as I remember the last time I tried there were too many required details that I couldn't fake.

Kumabjorn · 09-11-2012, 03:38 PM

Yeah, if they want keitai it is tough. You can always contact them and tell them you don't own one, but that may be another hurdle. It is an insular country, don't you have any friend's number and address you can use. That is usually my last resort.

You could off course also try getting books from Rakuten.

StoryEnthusiast · 09-11-2012, 10:02 PM

Welcome FNHA. I'm going off the topic a bit. Several years ago we wired some money to a publisher in Japan to order a Japanese magazine. Soon we were told the amount was not enough because their bank deducted several thousand yen as handling fee from the subscription money! We had to call a relative in Japan to do a domestic money transfer to make up the difference. Japan can be a headache when it comes to money transfer.

FNHA · 09-11-2012, 11:34 PM

StoryEnthusiast, yes I'm aware of how painful money transfers can be, being a student studying abroad. All purchases from Japan I've made are through PayPal, and I've never had any problems with it. If I remember correctly, my attempts to use credit cards have always failed, even through big stores like Hobby Search and AmiAmi.

mikaelalind · 09-12-2012, 04:33 AM

Doesn't Kobo have a japanese store? No idea about how many books they have, though. Or the url.

melmac · 09-12-2012, 04:43 AM

Have you perhaps tried changing the Region setting in either the Sony reader PC software or on the device to Japan so as to get access to the Sony Japanese store

FNHA · 09-12-2012, 01:27 PM

I checked Kobo's new Rakuten store, but even though the interface is in Japanese, I couldn't find any Japanese books that I know of there yet. Maybe they started off with nonfiction.

My Reader doesn't have Japan as a region choice. Not surprised, as I'm not running firmware designed to be used in Japan, unless there's a way to bypass that.

09-11-2012, 02:23 PM	#1
FNHA Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Sony PRS-T1	Japanese e-book stores? Hello, does anyone here know of any online stores that sell Japanese e-books and accept international purchases? The kind I'm looking for specifically is light novels, and those that use Android apps are fine too. I've tried a few, but Book Walker does not accept my credit card, Kinokuniya requires Japanese mail addresses to register, and Galapagos does not have the books I want. If there are none, does anyone know why the existing stores don't accept credit cards outside of Japan?

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09-11-2012, 03:02 PM	#2
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	I see you have the Sony PRS-T1, so do I. But I have the Japanese firmware, this lets me connect to Sony's Japanese Bookstore over WiFi. I had no problem registering there with a non-Japanese e-mail address nor problem with using non-Japanese CC. So you might try loading the Japanese firmware. Should that not be possible it is absolutely no problem registering for a Japanese e-mail address with Yahoo Japan, and then you can buy from Kinokuniya. PS Ohh, I see this is your first posting. Welcome to Mobileread.

09-11-2012, 03:28 PM	#3
FNHA Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Sony PRS-T1	Is it possible to load the Japanese firmware on the English PRS-T1? I don't think I saw any definite details on the device forums, so I didn't dare try. I do have a Yahoo Japan email, but I think Kinokuniya requires the address that comes with a Japanese phone number (eg @docomo.ne.jp or something similar) as well as a Japanese land address. I could go and check again, but as I remember the last time I tried there were too many required details that I couldn't fake.

09-11-2012, 03:38 PM	#4
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	Yeah, if they want keitai it is tough. You can always contact them and tell them you don't own one, but that may be another hurdle. It is an insular country, don't you have any friend's number and address you can use. That is usually my last resort. You could off course also try getting books from Rakuten.

09-11-2012, 10:02 PM	#5
StoryEnthusiast K. C. Lee Posts: 584 Karma: 3652522 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: New Zealand Device: Android phone	Welcome FNHA. I'm going off the topic a bit. Several years ago we wired some money to a publisher in Japan to order a Japanese magazine. Soon we were told the amount was not enough because their bank deducted several thousand yen as handling fee from the subscription money! We had to call a relative in Japan to do a domestic money transfer to make up the difference. Japan can be a headache when it comes to money transfer.

09-11-2012, 11:34 PM	#6
FNHA Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Sony PRS-T1	StoryEnthusiast, yes I'm aware of how painful money transfers can be, being a student studying abroad. All purchases from Japan I've made are through PayPal, and I've never had any problems with it. If I remember correctly, my attempts to use credit cards have always failed, even through big stores like Hobby Search and AmiAmi.

09-12-2012, 04:33 AM	#7
mikaelalind Fanatic Posts: 590 Karma: 788068 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sweden Device: Sony PRS 505, Cybook Odessey	Doesn't Kobo have a japanese store? No idea about how many books they have, though. Or the url.

09-12-2012, 04:43 AM	#8
melmac Wizard Posts: 1,399 Karma: 5573651 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Perth AU Device: Sony PRS650, Sony T3, Kobo Forma	Have you perhaps tried changing the Region setting in either the Sony reader PC software or on the device to Japan so as to get access to the Sony Japanese store

09-12-2012, 01:27 PM	#9
FNHA Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Sony PRS-T1	I checked Kobo's new Rakuten store, but even though the interface is in Japanese, I couldn't find any Japanese books that I know of there yet. Maybe they started off with nonfiction. My Reader doesn't have Japan as a region choice. Not surprised, as I'm not running firmware designed to be used in Japan, unless there's a way to bypass that.