Asahiya Express

Review update: this place is now closed permanently. There have been signs about a daiso opening up though, but I will definitely miss the Japanese bookstore. There’s others though, such as kinokuniya in little Tokyo in downtown LA and mini Japanese bookstores in certain Murakai markets and Mitsuwa markets.

They’re closing this store and two others in the L.A. area on Sept. 30. Everything is half off right now (except for magazines) so a good time to stock up on manga and CDs. Still, sad to see this place go. :-(

I am an illustrator of all cute things and this place is heaven to me. They extended their collection of craft books recently and it’s very well curated. Japanese craft books are so well made you don’t need to know Japanese to understand. They also have a pretty descent selection of deco books, another delight to my eyes.
They carry a good array of high quality stationnery, including the Tombow erasers which are the best I know of.
I just wish they had a better choice of filers and files, a bit too animé to my taste.
They also carry the LaQ construction toys, a bit expensive but very creative.
Get in the back for Japanese literature translated in English.
This store evolved recently to be a very interesting place and is definitely my favorite in this area!

They have great selection of Japanese magazine including Vogue, ELLE, Glamour, ViVi, egg and some speciality magazine for sports, tech, outdoor and cars.
It is also conveniently located right above Nijiya market that makes shopping all together fun and easy!

I love this little Japancese bookstore. I take my grandma here to buy her Japanese books. They have a great Japanese magazine selection. The books are a little pricey but understandable since they are imported. The staff is awesome too because they are so helpful. They are also able to mail out books as they get them in for a small additional fee.

It’s so hard to find a decent place that sells Japanese Rock albums nowadays. I was randomly strolling around the neighborhood just to check if there was an off chance they carried my favorite band’s albums. In fact, they carry much more! I was impressed to grab a DVD box set valued at $ 600 on the internet for $ 300! Definitely a reasonable price! The staffs are extremely friendly!
This store made me wished I had went to UCLA for college! Definitely coming back here more often! This and Book Off in Gardena are a GOLD MINE for J-​Rock fans!

THANK YOU ASAHIYA FOR CARRYING EGG! My 2^nd favorite fashion magazine– I wish Cawaii was still around, but c’est la vie. I love how a lot of the fashion mags there come with freebies inside. They also carry other things like cute stationery, popular Japanese books, comics, and *I think* DVDs/​CDs. The staff there is always nice!

I’ve worked so close to this place for so long that it’s really a crime that I only came in here for the first time today! I guess I always assumed they had Japanese books and magazines and nothing else.
Well, I was wrong!
They have cute and pretty greeting cards, adorable tchochkes, bento boxes, pretty pattered tape, stickers, erasers, stationery, stuffed animals, kids’ toys, and so much more. I must have stared at one shelf for like 5 minutes, trying to take it all in!
This will definitely be my go-​to for the cute on the quick whenever I need it! Lucky gift-​getters in my life will be sooooooo happy: D.

TOO EXPENSIVE!!!
How come a 750 yen magazine becomes $ 17!
How come a 1,700 yen book becomes $ 31!
Even though Yen is strong and shipping costs a lot, it can’t be such amount, or they should fix the price somehow. They import some books at once by a ship, so the books should be cheaper. I will ask someone to send books from Japan or buy e-​books from now.

Last time I was here, I went up to the counter and I didn’t even have to say anything — the lovely lady behind the counter already knew I was there to pick up my magazine subscription. Am I that regular of a customer? I guess so.
Love it!

I cant understand read or write anything in Japanese. But damnit! I love walking into this store to simply stare at all the cool stuff they have to offer. The magazine section is top notch as is their book selection. ¡Arigato gozaimasu!

My love for this quaint little bookstore stems from its great selection of rare, older Hamasaki Ayumi CDs which I can not find brand new anywhere else! They also have some pretty good sales on past concert and music DVDs.
The magazine selection seems to be a little smaller though which can be frustrating.
Aside from that though, most Japanese book and music enthusiasts will be able to find what they want here!

So, I have been looking around for a Japanese English electronic dictionary for ages and I found them here yay!!!
I love this bookstore. The magazines are well stocked, and it’s a good place to come in flip flops and jeans on a lazy Sunday.

People who knew me pre-​college all knew that I was a huge manga-​nerd. I loved it, lived it, and breathed it. I went to Animé Expo several times, too (although, I have to say that I never got into animé so much). No, I was never one of those crazies that did cosplay (though it looks fun), but I can honestly say that I probably read more manga than most other manga-​nerds combined…10 times over.
So after my college days, I weaned off this habit (hey, maybe I got a life). But I still have a huge soft spot for manga and Asahiya Express fills that gaping void with the latest manga delights. The staff is always polite, courteous and unobtrusive. Parking is a bit hectic but relatively easy in the underground lot, and the hours are good. It is a small bookstore in comparison to the non-​Express chain stores, but their manga selection is good (oops, let me rephrase that: their SHOJO manga selection is good) and you can order books from them that you don’t see on the shelves.
They also give you the stamp card every time you shop there, and I think depending on how many stamps you collect you get a free single, then a free CD, etc. I’ve come here so many times and I politely decline each time they ask if I have a stamp card. Had I been more diligent about collecting the stamps, I would have quite a huge J-​Pop CD collection by now.

Five stars for stumblin’ upon this little book store and finding the one manga series I’ve been searching high and low for on the internet and at japanese book stores and only found here! You saved me a lot of international fees trying to ship these babies from Japan! The heavenly feeling I had from running into this tid bit of luck and the self– satisfaction I got from knowing I was able to surprise/​impress my bf for x-​mas is worth the 5 stars :)

This is the only Asahiya left in the LA area, since the one in Little Tokyo closed. It is a lot smaller than the old Yaohan plaza one, hence the name Express. It is right above a Nijiya Market. I dropped by here on my way back to east LA from my aunt’s house.
They carry a small amount of CDs, general Japanese books, and a very small manga section. Mostly, they have a lot of magazines, much more than any other place.
Since the dollar has dropped so much against the yen, the magazines are ridiculously expensive now. So a 450 yen magazine will cost you about $ 9.00. I know that shipping is expensive, but I rather save some money and buy it at Kinokuniya. However, I did find a very cute Kiki’s Delivery Service calendar. A very affordable find.
It is weird, because I never realized Sawtelle was more Japanese than Little Tokyo, but at this point it is. This was my first time walking around Sawtelle, but I will definitely make my way back. Even though it took me 1 hour to get back home. Stupid LA traffic.

Why am I turning 23 and still reading comic books? Good question. Let’s blame it on the fact that series I started back in high school are still ongoing. Also, I’m too nerdy to live. In any case, Asahiya enables my nerddom with an extensive collection of comics. They get in all the new ones on time, and the schedule is posted on the wall by the register. They also hold books for you and call you as they come in (is my utter geekitude making you sick yet?). Staff is always friendly.
I like Kinokuniya downtown as well, but I end up hitting up Asahiya a lot more thanks to the location and the stamp cards. Their other books are well-​stocked, too. The comics just take up the back wall, and the store has a lot of inventory. I love browsing the cooking section, and one day I will buy one of those adorable bento books.

~* completely booked *~
made a quick stop here earlier to get a magazine to look at/​read on my trip. i really enjoy browsing this store. they have a good source of books, cards, magazines, even cute accessories and toys. i could spend a few hours looking through the variety of magazines. if i want to read the magazine articles thoroughly, i’ll buy one or two.
it helps to know how to read/​speak japanese. if not, it’s still a good place to explore.
nihonjin desu. =)

[Note: the stamp cards have changed as of summer 2007, as detailed at the end of my original review.]
This place is perfect when you’re looking for a book, magazine, DVD, CD … in Japanese. There’s a very limited selection of American magazines, some books (including translated manga), Japanese-​English dictionaries and textbooks, some gifts, and some stationary supplies, but that’s about it. BUT. If you’re looking for a region-​free DVD player, they have a few models, and the women working there were extremely helpful when I was selecting one.
Sure, it can be expensive, but think about it: you’re not going through some website, and you’re not waiting for delivery or anything like that. I guess you can say that the prices there also cover any costs for shipping/​importing/​whatever — at least that’s how I rationalize it.
I always go here to stock up on magazines and CDs. You can even find first press releases of some DVDs and CDs here. Recently, music-​wise, I’ve noticed that they’ve slowed down in getting in new releases within the release date in Japan (I think the major stores here get them less than 1 – 2 weeks after?), but that’s okay. Once I find out about a release date, I’ll go down there or give Asahiya a call and order it.
Oh my god, did I say order? YES. ORDER.
If they don’t have an item, you can definitely order it, and they will try to get it for you. They can even try to get hard-​to-​find items, even if other online services list them as «out of print» or «out of stock.» I’ve had a 85% success rate, so it’s always a great surprise when I get that call and hear that my order is in. If what you’re trying to order is a long shot, and they’re not able to get it, they will offer to order something else. Like I tried to get this limited edition CD/​DVD thing, and when they couldn’t get it, they offered to get the regular edition for me. But another happy surprise happened when I ordered a regular old CD, and they got me the boxset that’s supposedly been out of print for years.
There are no extra costs or deposits when ordering, but have lots of patience, especially if your items are considered out of print. They’re pretty good with giving an update within a couple of weeks. Everyone there is really nice, and I’d hate to give them a hard time.
A couple of tips: take advantage of their Double Stamp Days on Mondays. For every $ 10 you spend before tax, you get a stamp. When you fill up 30 stamps, you can get a CD single (for less than 1200 yen, I think?) or for 60 stamps, a full album (3000 yen or less). I know you can get $ 10 gift certificates or JAL mileage points, but eh, I’d rather go for the music. And even though I haven’t used it in awhile, you can flash that student ID of yours and get 10% off on a book. At least, I’m pretty sure they still do that. Feel free to tell me otherwise. Oh, and there are no exchanges or refunds. I know that sucks, but I always have faith, because I know it’s not bootlegged crap.
I try to give this store my business whenever possible, but I’ve spent so much money here (really, it’s not funny), I had to make myself stop and limit myself to the occasional splurge. And that splurge is going to happen in a few weeks, when the new Tackey & Tsubasa single comes in.
Edit 06−07−07: I’ve received my second order since writing this review; they notified me that it was in the store within a couple of days after the release date, so that was really fast. And I noticed that their new releases in their music section is getting better, too.
I also edited some info on exchanging the stamp card: the limit for a CD single is 1200 yen, not 1500 as I had written before.
EDIT 8÷06÷07: Today, I mourn the loss of Asahiya’s old stamp system.
Oh beautiful stamp cards, you brought me many delightful things. And your frequent rewards of various singles and albums enabled me to foster my love for most things JE even more.
I went there and was told that the old system was gone, and that there was a new card. Now, you get a stamp for every $ 5 you spend (before tax). Once you have 40 stamps, you get a $ 10 discount or something like 300 JAL miles on your next purchase. None of that free single or album anymore.
Sad? YOU BET.
Maybe that’s a good thing? I mean, filling out the card costs less money, and Double Stamp Days still apply. We’ll see how much I like it when I pick up my T&T singles (yes, more of them).

So I don’t read Japanese, but if I did, I’d feel like I found a little pot of gold. Most everything in this bookstore is in Japanese, including a book on the SATs and a celebrity magazine featuring Pink, Jennifer Lopez, and someone I didn’t recognize. I was tempted to buy the magazine, just because, but I resisted.
Anyway, there is a very small section of cards and gifts, and a small selection of dvds and cds, also. Not sure about prices considering that most the books must have been imported from Japan, but they seemed a bit steep.
LAME review, I know, but I wanted to put this on the map for those of you who do read Japanese. You can thank me later.