Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
The Cathedral Café maintains the building’s original church exterior.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.
The Glenwood
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Siegfried Tieber specializes in sleight-of-hand magic using small objects, as well as mentalism, which gives the illusion of reading minds.
Does a Magician Really Never Reveal Their Tricks? AO Wants to Know.
11 days ago
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
14 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
17 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
24 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Japan Tokyo Kastori Bookstore

Kastori Bookstore

This one-of-a-kind indie publisher-bookshop specializes in archiving historic red-light districts and niche cultural topics of the Shōwa era.

Tokyo, Japan

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The bookshop is located in front of Yoshiwara Benzaiten.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The bookshop is located in front of Yoshiwara Benzaiten.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Sale items outside the store: 1930’s magazines.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Senzoku neighborhood of Taito City, Tokyo, is located in a historic area once known as Yoshiwara, a notorious red-light district that was established by the government in 1617 and remains stealthily active even to this day. Though it's only a stone's throw away from the überpopular Asakusa, it is not quite a destination for regular tourists (perhaps except on the nights of the annual Tori-no-Ichi festival).

But if you happen to be interested in the turbulent history of Yoshiwara (and understand a bit of Japanese), the Kastori Bookstore is a perfect shop to browse. This one-of-a-kind indie bookshop was founded in 2016 by Goh Watanabe, who had quit his job to start a publishing company documenting the untold history of yūkaku, feudal Japanese red-light districts, as well as similarly niche cultural topics from the Shōwa era (1926-1989).

So far, Kastori has self-published over a dozen works on such themes and even donated a few of them to the National Diet Library, as their archival values are deemed unparalleled. Working as a researcher, documentarian, publisher, and seller all at once, the bookstore is more of an active archive than a simple shop, and even has a research library despite its small scale. It also holds guide tours of the former Yoshiwara area upon request.

Related Tags

Books History & Culture Bookstores

Know Before You Go

The bookstore is open from noon to 7 pm, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; photography is prohibited inside. Major credit cards are accepted.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Hidden Japan: Sado Island, Nara & Kyoto

Explore a different side of Japan.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

December 27, 2023

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Kastori Bookstore
Taito City
Tokyo, 111-0031
Japan
35.721771, 139.792869
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Asakusa Twelve Stories Mural

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Denkiya Hall

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Ohaguro Ditch Wall Ruins

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tokyo

Tokyo

Japan

Places 220
Stories 13

Nearby Places

Asakusa Twelve Stories Mural

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Denkiya Hall

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Ohaguro Ditch Wall Ruins

Tokyo, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Tokyo

Tokyo

Japan

Places 220
Stories 13

Related Places

  • The Moravian Book Shop

    Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

    Moravian Book Shop

    One of the world's oldest continually operating bookstores.

  • The street seen from above.

    Seoul, South Korea

    Gyeongui Line Book Street

    Booksellers and public artworks fill this vibrant promenade along the disused railroad tracks.

  • San Ginés Book Shop

    Madrid, Spain

    San Ginés Book Shop

    This unassuming bookstore in the heart of Madrid is one of the oldest in Spain.

  • Ramalama Book Exchange

    Wonthaggi, Australia

    Ramalama Book Exchange

    Leaning shelves and books galore, this location is a book lover's utopia.

  • Exterior of Bart’s Books.

    Ojai, California

    Bart's Books

    Explore more than 130,000 new and used books in the "world's largest outdoor bookstore."

  • Dallas, Texas

    Half Price Books Flagship Store

    A Texas-sized secondhand bookstore features 54,000 square feet of books, music, and media.

  • Krakow, Poland

    Abecadło

    A 19th-century pharmacy converted into a bookstore.

  • The historic Haarer Building.

    Ann Arbor, Michigan

    West Side Book Shop

    For books about travel, whether factual or fictional, the perfect antiquarian does exist.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.