Antique Book Fair

The Japanese love books. Ever since the invention of (wood block) printing and itinerant libraries where printed matter could be obtained cheaply, reading has been popular. So are the regular Antique Book Fairs in Kyoto, and the one during Golden Week at the Miyakomesse with thousands of books from dozens of booksellers from Kansei and beyond is the largest one of them.

Here, the book lover can indulge in tsundoku with ovels and textbooks, exhibition catalogs and art books, photography how-tos and self-help manuals, picture books and dictionaries... Naturally, the focus is on Japanese publications, but there are always books in foreign laguages: English, French, Korean, Chinese...

There is also plenty of book-adjacent printed matter: magazines, postcards, maps, old photographs, calligraphies, as well as music on vinyl and CD are for sale as well.

Dating back to 1911, the current building of the Miyako Messe (Kyoto International Exhibition Hall) is from 1996. On its seven floors (three underground), it houses four exhibition spaces, five meeting rooms, a craft room, a cafe/restaurant and the Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design in the basement.

As the name suggests, the Miyako Messe is a venue for fairs of all kinds, from job fairs for soon-to-be graduates to house fairs for young families. Visitors to Kyoto can enjoy the annual ComiCon anime/manga fair in September or specialized fairs revolving around swords, traditional handicrafts, Japanese food, bonsai, kimono etc.

See the website of the Miyako Messe (in English) for more information.