Kinokuniya Bookstore

Great range, great layout. There’s always something interesting in stock. I feel like the books aren’t as cheap as they could be, though — although you do pay for the convenience.

One of the best bookstores ever… one wants to buy all the books here.
I could spend my whole day here and not be bored with the books

Easy to get lost in the world of Kinonuniya with its intricate and unique pieces of mostly Japanese books and items. You will never fail to find the perfect gift or card here though if your wallet is a bit tight then this isn’t the right place for you. You can find cheaper articles elsewhere but a gem if you don’t mind splurging a bit on beautiful items.

The best curated selection of books & stationery in Sydney CBD.
Always find something interesting /​unique.

My kids love this bookstore and really plan a whole day around it — we’ve been here too many times to count.

I’m no bookworm but when I stepped in here recently, I spent over an hour inside! Each time I head into Kinokuniya, my inner book nerd comes out and I don’t realise how much I like it until I’m inside.
I was browsing for a Christmas gift and came across so many great titles. They have every book under the sun and even a Ryan Gosling notebook where he talks to you!
Extensive selection of all books.
The back section has lots and lots of stationery and puzzle games, from rubbers in the shape of meat, heaps of great quality washi tape, pens in the shape of pink flamingos… I had a field day in here and wanted to buy so many novelty items!
The only thing I wasn’t a fan of were all those fad colouring in books!!! They’re everywhere these days and the «mindfulness» aspect of them are gone and replaced by colouring in books that kids do.

Went to a signing here as a guest of the author. One of the security guards outside was very cool and nice. All of the employees I interacted with were kind and professional, except for one lady. She was skinny and had long-​ish faded brown /​blond-​ish hair that had an unbrushed look. She was so rude. I explained to her I was a guest, and that the store management and security were aware of it and that it was fine I didn’t have a proper email printout from the store for the event. Instead of either 1. Asking her manager or store security or artist security or 2. Taking my word for it, she decided to tell me I was wrong and needed to leave the store, then proceeded to TOUCH ME. Found it so incredibly rude. I had a soft tone the whole time and never did anything to warrant that kind of treatment from her. I came to a book store to go to a book signing, I didn’t expect to be hassled by some power-​tripping woman.
All the other people working that day were fantastic. Particularly a light-​skinned woman with dark brown hair, I think in a ponytail. She kept the line of people well-​organized and was kind to everyone.
The bookstore itself was impressive. Big selection for the size of the place (medium-​sized in comparison to bookstores I’m used to back in US), but somehow manages to seem pretty spacious and neat. I found the prices to be average.

«Like the internet, except in a shop!»
This is how I gleefully describe Kinokuniya bookshop to my friends.
If you have an interest and it’s not illegal, there is a high likelihood that you will find a blooming and diverse section of bound paper tomes beckoning you to browse in here.
The range of material is unbelievably thorough for a bookshop, and prices fluctuate from relatively expensive to quite the bargain, depending on the book.
For a small fee one can purchase a Kinokuniya bookshop card, that entitles the bearer to a 10% discount for 12 months. I bought one and earned its keep in a single purchase!
Staff are very friendly and eerily intuitive when recommending books to the seeker, they’ll also happily remove a book from its packaging for you to examine.
I’ve lost days of my life to this bookshop and I haven’t got a single regret.

Not the cheapest bookstore in the area, but honestly one of the coolest. If you are trying to find a book that is not easily accessible in other places, then come looking here. Especially if you are looking for graphic novels or manga — this should be your first stop. They also sell manga DVDs and merchandise.
They have an extremely large non-​fiction section. Their cookbook section is so large that it is indescribable.
There is also a café in the store — however, the coffee here is a little below ordinary. I would not come here for the coffee or the café, but the books.
Also, if you become a paid member, you’ll get a discount of all the full-​priced books that you buy. This is only worth it if you come here often.

What a great business.
First off: you could get lost in this place. Most sections are well looked after.
If you like comics, this is the place for you. The comics section is filled with Western, Independent and manga style comics. If you like Marvel or DC, there’s a good couple of shelves devoted in particular to graphic novels. Most of the releases here are less of the single «issue» type comics and more of the «collection» or «series» type. Darkhorse and other companies also have shelves.
There are a couple of «new release» type bits which is a mix of everything from all publishers in a few key spots. Manga gets a lot of shelves– probably around 5 – 7 double sided shelves that are reasonable in length. Art books get a slot up the back for animé/​manga and games type art books. These are a pain to import normally, so getting to look at them is quite good.
There is a large design/​arts section which i sometimes stop by at. Again, this section is actually quite big but it’s mainly the «new release» or specials section you’d hit up most.
If you’re an avid stationary or art nut, you can get all sorts of stuff that is hard to get elsewhere such as brush pens and the refills for them. I was originally buying them off ebay because I couldn’t find anyone locally. There’s a good selection of art materials here, both the throwaway and the more refillable type. They also sell moleskin notebooks and that sort of thing.
As for fiction/​non fiction, these sections are HUGE and they’re the main part of the store. You could pick a subject and they’d have a spot devoted to it. I couldn’t get my dad out of the store once he found the 3^rd spot that he liked. I think he was in there for 4 hours.
Sometimes they also get authors in to speak too, I saw Reg Mombassa personally. These events are usually free, and sometimes you can get your books signed.
There is a rather small but nice art gallery — usually populated with a current show. I’ve seen it empty maybe 3 times.
Sometimes the line to get out is long but given how big the store is and how popular, who can blame them.
I hope this place never shuts down.

This is such a delightful bookstore. You can just get lost in here for hours.
They also have this brilliant craft and paper section of the store. It’s my favourite spot to go for washi tape and cute card making supplies. They have a lot of imports from Japan. It’s just a little taste of the elaborate stationary stores you find in Tokyo.
Another cool part of this store is the little gallery space up front. They bring in exhibits and creative projects. They recently hosted part of the 52 Suburbs: Around the World exhibit by Sydney photographer Louise Hawson.

Best bookstore in Sydney and the widest selection of books ever. I want to work here. That is all.

The bottom of the receipt boldly states «NSW’s Favourite Bookstore!»
I can see why. They carry almost everything. Manga books fill at least a dozen bookcases here. There’s lots of books suitable for gift-​giving, too. And of course, the latest best sellers on stock.
In addition to the English language books, they also carry Japanese and Chinese books. I didn’t venture so far into those areas, but happily stopped in the stationery goods area. Here you can find many different types of letter sets (most goes for $ 10.00/$ 10.50 for a pack of 10 envelopes and 20 – 40 sheets of paper and a sticker sheet), memo pads, stickers, pens. I also see some ‘authentic’ Japanese papers and, of course, washi tape. I was in HEAVEN. Too bad I don’t have the money to spend.
Coincidentally, my husband and I were here during the post-​Christmas shopping season. Unfortunately, except for a very tiny table in the stationery area, Kinokuniya does not seem to do sales (at least not while we were there). My husband sees the few stationery sets in my hand and says to me «Oh, Dymocks is having a sale and there’s lots of stuff on sale, you know they have that stationery shop… blah blah blah…» Like a brat, I pouted and said «$ 10/​$ 7/​$ 3.50 are pretty good deals!» But agreed to hold off the purchase, hiding the selections in a cardboard box under a kiosk, and headed off to Dymocks.
An hour later, we were back, and I happily picked up the hidden selections — then DH asks where I found them originally. Skipping back into the stationery area, he helped me pick out a couple different ones. Ah, supportive of my stationery addiction, this one.
Anyhow, do make use of the self-​service ‘book finder’ monitors and make note of the locations (check the map, too). I used it a few times locating a few books. Some were silly to find so I did approach the store’s assistants and they were more than helpful in each instance. If you’re a book and stationery lover like yours truly, it’s easy to spend hours here thumbing through book covers.

Kinokuniya has been my favourite bookstore since I was a teenager (in Singapore) and I have to say the one in Sydney did not disappoint !
Other Unilocalers have said it all. They have everything here — I doubt they do not have what you are looking for. Besides english books, they have a huge section of chinese books (from novels to business books to cook books). Of course, they also have a section for japanese books — magazines/​manga/​novels.
I love how there is a japanese information counter in case you need to inquire about a japanese book
Unfortunately, it can get be pretty crowded.

Love it, love it, love it!
They have everything here. And I mean everything. Huge selections of all genres, from sci fi to literature to manga to whatever else you can imagine. I always spend a large amount of time in this place, whenever I am in Sydney, and it is one of the happiest places to spend a lot of time! A must visit for all book lovers!

This place seems to have everything you could want! Especially if you like Manga. Great place to browse for all manner of books and stationery.
Would be slightly improved if you could look at books whilst having a coffee at the café.

As far as bookshops go, this one has to be amongst the best. I remember the first time I went into the store, I was so overwhelmed that I forgot all of the books I intended to purchase and came out with a stack if books I had never even heard about.
I’ve not had too much to do with staff, however they seem lovely. If you have an enquiry, just check in with them, otherwise there are touch screen computer/​tablet stations where you can look up authors, book titles and where to find them.
Their selection is grand and categories vast. Anything from Manga to true crime, philosophy to YA, it’s got it all.
Also, the little café off to its side is great, but that’s another review in itself.

MIND = BLOWN.
I’ve never been to a Kinokuniya before, are they all like this?!? This is the biggest and best bookstore I have ever seen. I was paralyzed with awe. If I lived in Sydney, this would have been the perfect place to lose an afternoon and build a really interesting book collection.
Wheeee

This is a beautiful bookstore, especially if you are looking for animé, manga, or anything in the «graphic novel» category. Obviously, they have an amazing selection of Japanese art books, craft books, etc. They also have an extensive travel section, which is a wonderful way to plan future adventures.
If you are in the downtown area, this is a nice place to spend an afternoon.

I love love love this bookshop.
They have a fantastic sci fi/​fantasy section and don’t get me started on the comics section! Actually let’s be truthful here. They have a huge section on everything really. But those are the things that I usually look at.
Oh and their travel section.
And they have the toys. Toys are win.