Last Updated on September 11, 2025 by Laura
“No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven’t seen anything. And that’s life” _ Satoshi Yagisawa, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Since a couple of years, I am appreciating more of Japanese and Korean literature. It’s very different from our western-style literature and has a way of speaking to my soul that kinda hits me deeply. I have now an entire shelf full of curious titles that for a reason to another made me cry like a baby during the reading. One of these books is Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (2 books). This novel it’s so beautifully written and so full of significance that it’s impossible not to loving it. During my visit to Japan, I had the opportunity to visit Jimbocho, where this novel is based, and I couldn’t believe how much of the real Jimbocho is inside those pages! For this reason, I created this Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide that will help avid reader recognise the place that inspired this beautiful book.
If you want more information about Jimbocho, read my guide to the neighbourhood here.
With love from the Morisaki Bookshop
I don’t want to spoil too much content of the book (in case someone hasn’t read this yet). But the entire novel is based in Jimbocho and in the area of Chiyoda. Of course, places and characters are entirely fictional, but the narration is largely based on the real neighbourhood and still one can recognise the look-alike places when walking in the Jimbocho.
The novel, with a complete title of With love from the Morisaki Bookshop, is made by two books: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and More days at the Morisaki Bookshop. It follows the life events of Takako, a young woman that after a heartbreak find herself taking care of her uncle’s bookshop in Jimbocho. It’s a story with a very deep significance where Takako rediscovers not only the love for her family but also for herself alongside a deep lesson on the meaning of life.
It makes readers smile, cry and soothe them at the same time. It’s a powerful novel that makes people reflecting on what really matters in life.
It was one of my favourite book I read last year and when visiting Jimbocho, despite this was on my list long before I read this book, I couldn’t not see the places of the book everywhere I looked.
For this reason, I created this Days at the Morisaki bookshop-inspired itinerary that anyone who loved this book deeply can follow once in Tokyo.
Just a note on this itinerary and locations
- Please remember the locations on the book are fictitious. This means that their description might be different than how the places look in real life. For example, Sakura Street is described as full of bookshops but the real one in Jimbocho is not that full.
- PLEASE remember always that you are in Japan, so behave yourself. Don’t be a stupid foreign tourist as the ones we see nowadays on social media. There are many “no photo” signs around Jimbocho, particularly in front of the bookshops. Please respect the signs and the wish of the owners not to be photographed/filmed. Even if no signs are displayed, try to read the room and behave politely.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop’s inspired-locations
There are not too many locations described in the book as this revolves much about the feelings of the characters. Nevertheless, the places described stick into the reader’s mind so much that one wishes to be there. I decided to list 8 of the most significative locations described in the book and match them with their real-life spots. I’ve also added a quotation from the book related to their main description.
At the end of this paragraph, you will find also a map locating all these spots around Jimbocho to find them easily during your visit.
Jimbocho Station
Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide – Jimbocho Station
“Two weeks later, I was standing in Jimbocho Station. How had it come to this? In an instant, my life had changed so quickly that I was still reeling from it”
Jimbocho station is where the main character book journey start and also where any visit to this lovely neighbourhood starts. It’s not the fanciest of the stations but I loved how book-themed the station signs were.
Jimbocho main intersection, Yasukuni Street
Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide – Yasukuni-dori
“It all looked so strange, I saw a main avenue (which my uncle had told me was Yasukuni Street) and all along it on both sides were rows of bookshops. Everywhere you turned, there was another bookshop”
Yasukuni Street is called in real life Yasukuni-dori Avenue. This is a very long avenue connecting the neighbourhoods of Jimbocho and Kanda. Like Tomoko, this is probably the first street visitors see when coming out from the station. Indeed, the exit is right on the street filled with bookshops.
Sakura Street
Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide – Sakura-dori
“I left the main road and turned into a little backstreet called Sakura. This brought mee to an area of secondhand bookshops. ‘This is a wonderland of secondhand books’.
Sakura Street is called in real life Sakura-dori. It’s a backroad of Yasukuni-dori Avenue but differently than its book description this road isn’t filled with secondhand bookshop. In fact, the author completely made up the description of Sakura-dori purposely romanticising it for the book. Sakura Street in the book, is the location of the Morisaki-bookshop, therefore it’s normal that to the eyes of the readers it should appear as a pretty street, a wonderland of secondhand books.
In real life, Sakura-dori is more a residential area with a few restaurants and only 1 or two bookshops. It’s not visually pretty but either not terrible. Just a regular residential area.
The only backstreet that could potentially resemble the Sakura street of the book is the one cornering the historical Yaguchi Shoten named Kandahitotsubashichu-dori St.
Morisaki Bookshop
” The shop was about thirty years old, but it looked like something from an earlier era. Through the glass doors of the little two-floor wooden building, you could see the books crammed together”.
The Morisaki Bookshop, iconically belonging to Tomoko’s uncle Satoru of course doesn’t exist in real life. There is a movie adaptation of the book which rendered the shop idea quite well (from the few pictures I saw). Nevertheless, from the book description, while walking in Jimbocho, there was a shop that immediately caught my eye. This is Nankaido Shoten on Yasukuni-dori. It’s a bookstore specialising in history books (so not really the theme of Morisaki bookshop) but could perhaps resemble the Morisaki’s from its physical description.
Saveur coffee shop
Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide – Ladrio Coffee shop
“…It wa an old wooden coffee shop that I didn’t think I’d ever noticed before. (…) I turned and looked around inside. It felt so peaceful there. The interior was lit by soft lanterns. Gentle piano music was playing. The blackened brick wall was covered with doodles and graffiti from past customers. All of it fit together beautifully and matched the warm, soothing ambience of the coffee shop.”
If there’s a place that matches almost perfectly the book’s description of Saveur it’s a cafe called Ladrio. This is at about 5 mins walk from the main street in Jimbocho and it’s kind of a unique place. It has a warm wooden interior, soft lanterns (as the book!), book with shelves and a lovely atmosphere. One of their specialities is curry (of course we are in the Kanda area after all!). However, they serve also coffee and desserts.
Kanda used book festival
Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide- Kanda Secondhand Book Festival – Photo Credits: Visit Chiyoda
“The Kanda Used Book Festival took place over the course of a week in late October. And for that week, carts and bookshelves crammed with used books, crowded the streets in a open-air flea market”
Not a proper spot to visit but one of the book’s chapter is dedicated to the famous Kanda Secondhand Book Festival (original name is Kanda Furuhon Matsuri), which in the book is transformed into Kanda Used Book Festival. Well, this is not a fictional event. Indeed, the festival exists for real and it’s held every year at the end of October. Stalls are displayed over the 500 mt of Yasukuni-dori with over 1 million books on display. Certainly one of the main event in Tokyo for book lovers!
Dates for 2025 are yet to be confirmed.
Mitake Mountain
Days at Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide- Mount Mitake – Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons
“We got off the train at a little station called Mitake. The mountains were right in front of us now, with the blue sky behind them, and in the centre of it all was an enormous mountain that towered over everything else. It was a majestic, massive mountain – it was not going to budge one bit.”
A very important chapter in the book narrates of the trip that Takako does with her auntie, Momoko at Mitake-san. Despite in the book, the mountain is never mentioned in a direct way, except by the fact mentioning the two women dropping off at a station called “Mitake”. From the description, is clear the author is talking about the famous Mount Mitake a mountain in Chichibu Tama Kai National Park located in the outskirts of Tokyo.
Indeed, similarly as in the book, visitors who want to visit the mountain have to drop off at Mitake Station and from there catch a shuttle bus. Near the mountain summit, visitors can also visit the Musashi Mitake Jinja, a shrine that is mentioned in the book too.
Of course, this location is not nearby Jimbocho and requires a specific day trip from Tokyo.
If you are interested in more day trips from Tokyo, read my specific article here!
Imperial Palace
“We came to the moat of the Imperial Palace, we decided to take a rest before heading back. In the moat, the streetlights shone dimly on the surface of the water, where a black, silhouetted bird swam gracefully. Behind the hedges, the Imperial Palace looked dark and deserted.”
Not many knows or realise that Jimbocho is actually very close to the Imperial Palace area. Indeed, walking takes about 15 mins between the two places. Although the visit inside the palace take places only at specific times and with specific pre-booked tours, the moat of the palace and the external grounds are free to walk at any time. In Days at the Morisaki Bookshop the Imperial Palace is theatre of ones’ of Momoko and Satori meaningful conversations and it’s described as beautiful as it is in real life.
As visitors, in addition to the main palace area many consider also a stop to the iconic Chidorigafuchi Pier. Here people can rent a boat to navigate the small river and during the cherry blossom season this is one of the most popular places in Tokyo.
Want to sightsee in Tokyo? Read my Tokyo guide!
Morisaki Bookshop locations’ guide map
Below you can find a map with all the locations mentioned in this blog post. You can just simply open it with Google maps on your phone.
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