Kinokuniya San Francisco

Category:	Book Store
Address:	1581 Webster St, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
Phone:	+1 415-567-7625
Site:	kinokuniya.com
Rating:	4.5
Working:	10:30AM–8PM 10:30AM–8PM 10:30AM–8PM 10:30AM–8PM 10:30AM–8PM 10:30AM–8PM 10:30AM–8PM

Location

+−

Leaflet

Photos 100

Reviews 17

Jae Hee Yoo

Okay... this place is generally good. They have all the anime manga stuff. I love those parts except the owner is horrible. I only bought 2 books from the store and lafter of day, I checked my receipt and they charged me extra t-shirt,which I never bought. That t-shirt cost $29.99 without tax. I was very upset for whole period of my journey to home. Because this accident WAS on purpose. If I think back, there was a lot of weird action that the owner did. Here are clues: 1) she looked at me one and the adding process was too long. -at this point, I think she was thinking about should she add extra product in or not. 2) she was very hurry in charging money - my debit card have error in chip. So I tell her my chip is not working but she was in very hurry and kept pushing my card in 3) she didnt ask me whether I want a receipt in the bag or not. - she just put it in the bag so I could not see the receipt. This is real experience that I had. Thank you for reading this long writing :) Anyway people BE CAREFUL. THEY ARE THEIF!!!

Sabrina Lewis

Lovely place, essentially building one of a larger mall complex. Hosts two Maidō stores, a Kinokuniya bookstore (Japanese multinational), a lovely udon shop called Udon Mugizo, and a lovely ramen shop known as Sapporo-ya. Mifune Bistro is a must visit, particularly for large groups and serves excellent sushi and cold noodles for a hot day. Special mention goes to Kissako, a small shop propped up next to the stairs where you can get tea, mochi, or a curry or onigiri if youre in a rush, sit down and enjoy your afternoon. Try the dango, they have a few varieties though my favorites are the Kushi dango and the Berry Mochi dango. The Kinokuniya building is one of two connected by a bridge going over Webster Street, and on the way youll find my favorite Curry House in San Francisco: On the Bridge! (is the name of the restaurant)

A. K. B

The bookstore store is great, service is friendly but the selection has gone down in the last five years. The stationary store used to carry things you could not easily find anywhere else, but now its full of only the most easily accessible things and at prices up to 50% higher than online. Its become more of a school supplies store than a delightful place you could get all sorts of creative stationaries. The downstairs bookstore, where they keep the manga, magazines and game paraphernalia seems reasonably stocked. I cant comment on how up to trends it is. Overall Its an okay destination to go on the side, but I will no longer be able to justify a trip through city traffic to go. If you are making a whole day of it, or going for the excellent okonomiyaki, its worth the trip. Double so on the festival days.

Roy Hashimoto

This is a great place to find all kinds of Japanese toys, magazines, manga, etc., as well as Western books and media. One very cool service they have is magazine pick-up subscriptions. Ordering Japanese magazines can be prohibitively expensive because of the shipping cost. For some titles, Kinokuniya will let you pick up your subscription at the store instead of having it sent to your home (they send an email when the next issue arrives). This is *much* cheaper - 60% cheaper for the title I ordered - and is a great option if going by the store isnt too inconvenient.

A Private User

This store makes others want to check me into "paperholics anonymous!" When I walk in here and see all the cute stationery sets, origami papers, notebooks, pens, erasers, and other adorable things its like every time I OD on cute. I usually end up spending at least $40 everytime I walk in the place because there is a stationery set or notebook I just HAVE to have or else I will die. Its seriously becoming a problem... but I cant stop buying their papers! And if they try to make me go to rehab, Ill say NO, NO NO!

Carroll Herman

Good, general serious bookstore. Ive browsed here a few times on weekend afternoons after long strolls through Soho. And its a wonderful respite from all the Soho trendiness. Great art section. Also, a terrific place to pick up works in translation. Word is that there are huge amounts of translators living in this neighborhood, so Kinokuniya Book Stores always makes sure to stock up on books that will interest them. Regardless, we all benefit from it.

Futsu Kushii

I often travel to the city just for this store! I admit, I go there mainly for the great selection of anime merchandise! They ALWAYS have the latest goods from Japan! They also have a wonderful selection of magazines, manga, and light novels. They can also order things from Japan for you at no charge :) and their staff knows their stuff! Im considering getting a membership here soon--Im always spending tons of money here!

Maurizio Franzini

When you step into this bookstore, you feel projected into a Japanese town, thanks to the excellent selection of books, magazines, manga, trinkets. True, it also offers material in English, but only to a limited extent. For neophytes to the Japanese language, Kikokuniya carries an excellent selection of textbooks, workbooks, dictionaries. Dont leave Nihonmachi without indulging some time in here!

Steven C

I always drop in here if Im in the area! I mostly come here for their anime and manga section in the first floor of the bookstore. Their selection is excellent and they also have a lot of anime magazines, art books, figures, keychains and more! The upper level has the regular books as well as various knick knacks, some apparel, movies, and music CDs.

Tomás Andrade

I loved the great manga collection they got. Today I received some books I already had as a gift. When I went to return them, an old man was very rude and closed the store on my face. Id like a better custumer service, because I dont even live in the country, but I go to Kinokuniya whenever Im visiting, even though this books are cheaper on Amazon.

Franck Murialdo

A lot of various Japanese books including obviously mangas, I would say the next best thing after actually being in Japan. Besides books in Japanese, a few English books, small gifts, toys, cards... Btw you can find some Japanese children books to practice if you are learning. More fun than the practice books you would have to use for a class.

A Private User

I love coming here to buy manga and Japanese magazines. The selection is much better than the store in San Jose and its always a lot busier. They also sell an interesting selection of coffee table books that are related to Japanese culture. And its right next to Sophies Crepes, which is great for a snack :-)

Elaine Wang

This is generally my first stop anytime I go to Japan Town! I love the downstairs section where they sell anime and manga merchandise I would normally have to import from Japan (expensive shipping!). It can be kind of expensive since everything is from Japan, but it can be worth it in my opinion.

pegasusquilts

English books! Japanese books! Books on language! Art! Craft! History! Magazines on everything from tech to quilting to dogs to guy hair...toys, gifts, kits, a whole floor of Manga and an incredible stationery store next door with every pen, paper, eraser you could possibly want.

A Private User

たくさん本とか雑誌とか漫画などがあります。Dont go on the weekends, though. Very crowded and packed with tourists and otaku.

Jin Arai

Tons of selections, including most recent Japanese books and Anime-related goods. 1Fは日本のアニメイトさながらの品揃え。

Andy Kwan

Here is the only nice Manga shop we have in San Francisco. Good collection of illustration books and artwork collections. Slightly pricey but you dont have to deal with online ordering. They added figures corner from Good Smile Company but only have limited stocks.