Miscellaneous

After a while, you’ll notice the sheer amount of bookstores and reading materials there seem to be in Japan. While print media has been declining in the West, with the occasional revival, physical books and media are still very much a thing in Japan.  Part of the reason may be the literacy rate, which has been one of the highest in the world for a decade.  With that many people able to read, It’s no wonder the publishing industry churns out more books, newspapers, and other reading materials to keep people informed and entertained. If you are an avid reader, you may be a little envious at the sight of all the books that you can’t read due to the language barrier. Sure some bookstores specialize in selling books in English and other languages, and Amazon’s Kindle service is also highly recommended as well, but sometimes you might want to borrow a book from the local library or need a place to stretch out and study. This begs the question: What do Japanese libraries have to offer native English readers? Quite a lot!  Take advantage of the lending network Some libraries either have many foreign language books due to a…