I haven’t done extensive bookstore hopping lately, ever since I became less interested in books and concentrated more on webtoons and manga. So, it was kinda refreshing to do this, and NGL, I felt something—very nostalgic, to say so.

I dubbed this bookstore hopping as “finding the Gojo volume”! In the end, I bought it online, but honestly, there’s something about being in a bookstore, browsing aisles and aisles of books, that is really just magical!

This post has been sitting in my drafts forever. Last year, we flew to Hong Kong, and like always, I made sure to visit Causeway Bay. We usually stay on Hong Kong Island because, IMHO, I think the hotels there are better.

Of course, we checked out my favorite Japanese department store, Sogo. I’ve blogged about Asahiya before, but sadly, it closed down during the pandemic. Don’t worry, though! A new store called Sobundo has taken its place, and it’s basically the same vibe as Asahiya. I even recognized the guy who helped us out before—he’s still there! I think the management hasn’t changed, which is really nice of them, but they go by a new name now.

I was on the hunt for Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 4 and also wanted to pick up the latest volume of Raise wa Tannin ga Ii, but unfortunately, both were unavailable at the time. 💨

I used to wish we had a local Kinokuniya store after being so impressed by it in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore +  Sydney (based on stories from my sisters). And now, we finally have one here! It’s a full-fledged Kinokuniya, thanks to a collaboration with Fully Booked. Honestly, I’m just thrilled we have one—it’s all that matters to me!

So, we drove to BGC and dropped by Mitsukoshi Mall, which, like Sogo in HK, is a Japanese concept mall. We got distracted by gashapon before scouring aisles and aisles of manga. Oh, it was love at first sight! So many books and raw manga! I even saw printed webtoons like Remarried Empress! A defo rare find! Sadly, neither the Gojo volume nor the latest Raise wa Tannin ga Ii was there. But my sister and nephew bought a couple of other volumes, so it wasn’t entirely unsuccessful!

Since we were already in BGC, I decided to visit their mega branch at High Street. I loved that collage of books. Though prettier, I felt like the selection at Mitsukoshi Mall was better, but again, the vibe here was really nice.

We also went to Kinokuniya in Mall of Asia. Once again, I preferred the Mitsukoshi branch overall, but the Mall of Asia store had an amazing design, with anime artwork near the ceiling! Of course, we picked up a few more manga volumes. I bought the latest volume of One Piece for my nephew and even encouraged him to try Jujutsu Kaisen.

While my bookstore-hopping mission wasn’t entirely successful (since I ended up ordering the Gojo volume online), I still loved the experience. It’s a little reminder of how much I used to love exploring bookstores, fangirling over printed books, and getting lost in the magic of it all!