Stories of Kyoto Bookstores That Have Disappeared - 11

I just wrote about this last month, too... (tears).
Click here for a magazine containing all the articles so far.

This time, the one that has regretfully closed its doors is Futaba Shobo, which was located inside the Daimaru Kyoto store.

They moved into Daimaru in 1986. Isn't that quite a long-established shop?
According to an article in L Magazine, the Kyoto branch was the only Daimaru in the country to have a bookstore inside it. That's a bit surprising.
I think it's a lovely idea to have a bookstore inside a "department store" that handles "a hundred goods."

I can't say this too loudly, but I kind of think Daimaru, it's your fault that this place is closing.
You see, I think it was around the time of COVID that Daimaru stopped doing what are known as "product exhibitions on the event floor."
Futaba Shobo at Daimaru Kyoto was located exactly on this "event floor."
This was quite a rare setup. A bookstore right next to where they held "Hokkaido Product Exhibitions," "Valentine's Fairs," or "Summer Bargain Sales." Cultural desires and material desires stood side by side in harmony.

Especially during food-related product exhibitions, there was a space right in front of the bookstore where people could sit and eat, and you would often see the scene of people enjoying sweets or bento boxes while casually looking at the books lined up in front of them.
I think that not only people with a clear purpose like "I'll buy that new release while I'm at the product exhibition," but also people who hadn't originally intended to go to a bookstore were drawn in, thinking, "Oh, that's out? I'll buy it," or "That magazine looks interesting, I'll buy it and take it home."

Another feature of this place was that it had many books for children.
The store area itself was quite small, but a significant portion of it was occupied by children's books.
I'm sure this was also aimed at families coming to the product exhibitions. It would draw in children who were bored with adult shopping or tired of eating. That's the work of a pro, Futaba-san.

And yet, perhaps because of COVID, Daimaru stopped doing these "product exhibitions on a dedicated floor" at almost all their stores, not just the Kyoto branch. They barely manage a Valentine's Fair, but at the Kyoto store, it's no longer on this floor but held on a different floor, in an event hall usually used for art exhibitions. Honestly, this space is very cramped, has no eat-in area, and isn't very exciting.

And the space that was originally the "event floor" became a stylish furniture store.
No, of course, there's nothing wrong with furniture. Furniture is important. I love it myself.

...But, I don't buy furniture that often. I rarely buy it. It happens maybe once every few years.
In other words, I have almost no reason to go to that floor anymore. I stopped going.

Honestly, the Futaba Shobo at Daimaru Kyoto is really small. And it was on the "former event floor," which is the top floor excluding the restaurant floor.
In other words, it wasn't a place you would go out of your way to choose when you had a clear intention of "going to a bookstore."
Whenever I used it, it was always part of the flow of going to a product exhibition and remembering, "Oh, that's right, that came out, I'll buy it."

I suspect many other Kyoto citizens besides myself felt the same way. Once they stopped doing the product exhibitions, there was no reason to go out of your way to go up to the 7th floor to visit a bookstore.
Sadly,it closed last month,but right at our feet, just outside the Daimaru basement exit, there wasKumazawa Bookstore,and if you go a little further west, there isOgaki Bookstore.They are right by the underground passage, which is the path for most people wandering around Shijo. Since those are sufficient, there's no reason to go up to an upper floor where there's nothing else to see.

It feels like, well, of course Futaba would close. I went to take the top photo, and there really were no customers on the 7th floor.
I kind of resent Daimaru. I resent them in the sense that they stopped the product exhibitions that were so much fun.
I especially loved the Daimaru Hokkaido Exhibition. To be honest, while Hokkaido product exhibitions tend to be similar no matter who holds them, only Daimaru's was special.
What was special was that they hadSeicomartcroissants (lol). These were really cheap and delicious. I can't forget them.
Isn't it about time you started them up again, Daimaru...?

For that reason, I hope Futaba Shobo does their best at their other stores. I honestly don't think there would have been any future for them even if they had stayed on that floor at Daimaru.
I mostly go to the Zest Oike or Kyoto Station branches, but they also run things like picture book cafes. That's a wonderful initiative. I'd like to visit one sometime.

However, I don't want to write any new articles for this series for a while... (tears).