Bangkok's oldest secondhand Japanese bookstores are selling doing a roaring trade

Started by a husband and wife team 13 years ago and now run by Supaporn Sakane, the widow of the Japanese man who dreamed up the idea, DD Bookshop has long been responsible for keeping a smile on the faces of businessmen and housewives whose lives brought them to Bangkok.
With two branches, one at Thaniya Plaza off Silom and the other on Sukhumvit Soi 33/1, DD Bookshop was the first store the sell secondhand Japanese books and also offer comics for rent to thousands of fans.
Prices start at Bt20, with hardcover titles going for Bt300, around 70 per cent less than a new book at a local commercial bookstore.
While Japanese books are not costly back in Tokyo, by the time they arrive in Thailand, transportation and tax have pushed the price sky high.
“A magazine in Japan is as cheap as a bowl of noodles and it doesn’t carry as many ads as a Thai publication. That’s why Japanese read more than Thais,” says Supaporn.
Today, all DD’s books are bought from Japanese read¬ers who bring them to the shops once they’ve finished with them.
“We used to import titles but the process is very com¬plicated and it’s expensive. We get new releases quicker by buying them from readers,” she explains.
Most of her clients are Japanese, although DD Bookstore also gets Thai customers, mainly students and comic lovers fascinated by the illustrations.
“Some translators comes here too, as they know they’ll find interesting books,” she adds.
For the first 10 years, the bookshop had no competitors so profits were high. Now, there are more secondhand Japanese bookshops in town, though DD remains a favourite with regulars.
“Competition is high. Sometimes the other shops pay higher prices for used books, so our stores have fewer new books coming in,” she says.
Running the bookshop can be a headache at times, especially with more secondhand stores opening each year, but Supaporn isn’t giving up.
“I don’t want to quit. Business is still ok,” she says.


XTRA
Between the lines
DD Bookshop’s Sukhumvit branch is on Soi 33/1. Call (02) 662 0590.
The Silom branch is on the third floor of Thaniya Plaza next door to Asia Books. Call (02) 231 2122.