Battlestar or Bookshop - Coach and Four in Sapporo

6th August, 2010 - As a frequent visitor to Japan, I have found that my spending habits on coming back to Japan have been varying over the years. Over recent years, I've most probably turned away from the traditional "Japanese" things and souvenirs to more practical things. And one of those things are books... Japanese books are difficult to buy here in Adelaide, and when you can buy them, they're expensive. So I've been filling up my additional luggage quota on Qantas (most probably about 5+ kg of my 40 kg allowance) with books. Even English books which can be almost half price in Japan as compared to buying the same book back here in Australia. My wife is very tolerant of my book-buying sessions.

It's strange that even though there's so many resources on-line now (including yours truly), there's still few that come close to a nice book that you can curl up with and just flick through on a lazy Sunday... that is, if I had lazy Sundays.

There are a few decent bookshops in Sapporo - and perhaps the most well known is Kinokuniya, which is on the western exit coming out of Sapporo Station - in the Sapporo55 building. Another bookshop that you might want to check out if you're spending any time in Sapporo is the Coach and Four shop. Now, there are a few Coach and Four shops around Sapporo/Hokkaido, but the one I'm familiar with is on Shinkawa Dori..in the area known as, strangely enough, Shinkawa.

View Sapporo Map in a larger map


Trust me, you would be hard-pressed not to be able to find it driving down Shinkawa Dori. It is...er... distinctive in it's decor (yes the image above is exactly how it appears). I have to say it looks like a cross between galactic battle-cruiser, a Pachinko parlour, and a rather corny looking Love Hotel (but that's a different story). The owners of the chain apparently liked the look, as all of the stores have the same exterior.

Source: the official site (no cameras allowed inside)

Oh well - it's the inside that counts. And the inside is where things get interesting. These are great places to not only buy books (including English books), but also magazines, textbooks, art-works, CD's and DVD's, stationary, Studio Ghibli goods (as well as a wide range of themed and brand-name items). There is also a large range of house-wares and decorations, as well as craft goods - and also a great range of 'Japanese' goods and materials. There's even a decent cafe there, and undercover parking.... what more could you want? Not much more.... seriously, this is always a must-visit shop when we return to Sapporo.

Well - here's some more images taken from the official Shinkawa website (as there was no cameras allowed in the store):

Source: Official website - home decorations

Source: Official website - Japanese items

Source: Official website - children section

Source: Offical website - character corner

Source: Official website - cafe Interlude

Overall - I'd have to say this is one of my fav shops in Sapporo. If you've not visited, take a look.