The Bookstore Which Tells ‘True Travel’

The owner of Nomado, Kawada in Nomado(Mita campus)

“You should go travel more easily” said Masakazu Kawata, who is the owner of the book store ‘Nomado’ in Nishi-Ogikubo, Tokyo. Near the of the store, there are many books on Asian countries.

Travel book store specializing in travel is common in many countries and many travelers go there. It is not only a place for searching books but also for advice about your travel plans. Such friendly place has reality in Japanese.

When he first encountered a travel book store in East Village, New York. It was an eye-opening experience. Therefore he found similar bookstores in Europe and he decided to open his own bookstore. In 2007, he started managing the ‘Nomado’ in Nishi-Ogikubo.

Inside the bookstore carries new and second hand books. Which are sorted by regions or categories. There are books of national costumes, high school geography textbooks and pop-up books for small children. Of course, there are ordinary guide books. But the store encourages the customers to learn Okinawa, Basque countries and Celt.. The store is filled with peculiar smell of books and the dark orange light has a different feel from that of large chain. It seems like a cafe or a boutique.

Mr.Kawada emphasized the importance of communication during a trip.

His policy is to introduce books which give a feel of traveling to the customers. In other words, he aims to help them have experiences that are not limited in food and sightseeing. He seriously wants you to experience them through Nomado.

“You don’t need to speak a foreign language fluently. The important thing is to try to communicate with many people” says Kawata He thinks that Japanese should change their mindset toward studying languages. While the number of people who travel abroad continues to increase, fewer young people express interesting in traveling in abroad. Yung people should try to talk to foreigners and simply enjoy connecting with them and learning their cultures.

Written by Yoshihiro Jinbo, Naoshi Chiba
Edited by Yamaha Sato

Japanese Version

Postscript

I was satisfied by coverage to Kawata. I learned a lot of things from Kawata and I understand of importance of travel. Thank you.

Yoshihiro Jinbo

I understood  Mr.Kawada’s preference of travel well from the books stored in his shop and his statement. I was surprised by finding this book store featuring travel because it is different from ordinary one. When you travel somewhere, it’s interesting not just to buy books about the country or region, also to listen the infomation from somebody who has been there.

Naoshi Chiba