Tonight I stumbled on the best book store I have found so far in Japan. That is the Kinokuniya in Shinjuku. Wow. The wow factor is multiplied by my improved reading skills. As I browsed through the books there, I found everything I had ever dreamed and hoped to learn about in Japanese. I only wish I had the time and money to read them all, I found 20 books I had to have. And that was just my first visit.
To put this into proper perspective, I think I'll provide a little background
Rewind a decade or so to when I first started developing interest in everything Japanese. It started with old samurai flicks and moved on to everything else. I always thought that there would be something special I could learn if I knew Japanese, something hidden within the language. I knew it was connected to calligraphy and photography, and I've always had a feeling that I could learn something amazing in those regards if I came to Japan.
Then I finally found a good Japanese class and studied hard for a few years, found a way to get over here, then when I get here, I can't find the kind of books I want to read, and the ones I do find I can't yet read because book words and grammar are different than usual words and grammar that I learned in all of my studies. After one semester of frustration and disappointment, I finally decide to move up a level in Japanese. Risky as far as my grade is concerned, already having a hard time keeping up. But so, so, so, so worth it. A few weeks of the higher-level class and I find the book store where I was told I could get one of the optional text books for the class. Not being able to find that particular book, I wander down a floor and find heaven in print. Entire shelfs dedicated to calligraphy and photography. All in Japanese, and I can read them (not everything, but enough to understand that this is exactly what I've been looking for).
I don't end up buying any books because I could not choose just one and I had to come home to do homework, of which I am now procrastinating by writing this journal. Back to my studies.
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