Kinokuniya Bookstore - Portland — Local services in Portland

The security at this place always makes me feel weird. Kinokuniya is known to readers of Japanese as a global bookstore chain and I have been to a lot of them over the years and seen the evolution of their US stores as they've shifted from being a small chain frequented mostly by Japanese expats to a massive beast feeding the global otaku hunger for anime and manga.

The downtown Portland store differs from most other stores in focusing almost exclusively on catering to the latter audience: this kino features manga, model kits and Japanese stationery goods with a dusting of other things generally in the "cool Japan" bucket randomly adding color too. This isn't to say they only sell manga and art books though-- this kino has a tight selection of Japanese novels in both English and Japanese that provide something unique even for someone like me who has the papers to prove their expertise in the field. They also offer an interesting assortment of nonfiction in both languages that carry that very smart contemporary appeal. Books on the histories of Japanese candies or Showa era design, a series of manga that teach you management skills, unique Portland guides and gorgeous children's books stood out my last visit.

My major issue with kinokuniya is their prices and it feels even worse at this location - I think it is because of the curation and not a different pricing structure. Kinokuniya is very reliable in how it prices items I think but the standard they use is from an era where these items were difficult to get in the US at all and where importing was much more expensive than today. I am frustrated because I would spend a lot more here if the prices weren't double what I could pay elsewhere. And I don't just mean their imports - they stick to the SRP on their domestic merch or higher which, I'm sorry, growing up in the city of Powells I have never paid SRP for a paperback.

Personally, I think well curated shops provide guests an experience that appeals to first timers and regulars, offers predictable items and curiosities, is ready to provide the batteries to the toy it sells and has variety in pricing so that on any visit a guest could come in and find something catch their eye and fall into their budget. This kinokuniya does an excellent job - surprisingly to me - of many parts of that list but they need to either relax their pricing or add some budget items into the mix. Or, put it another way, I never finish at this store with that heady satisfied feeling like I found a treasure or a deal and that feeling is something that hooks you into coming back. I know kinokuniya is a more utilitarian company - in Japan it's a bookstore with simple layouts and very dull colors. But this kino screams out like it's trying to be on Takeshita-dori and could use a few of their tricks to...

Extremely Disappointed – Will Never Shop Here Again We had a terrible experience at this store and will never be coming back. I will also be warning friends and family not to shop here. This store deserves a ZERO star. How can you treat customers like this? My daughter purchased two blind boxes from her favorite show, one as her own birthday present and the other for her sister’s Christmas present. After opening one, she realized the other box contained a character her younger sister wouldn’t like— mind you, she spent days researching online and weighing the box to guess what the character was inside. The drive to the store is a couple of hours but my daughter wanted to surprise her sister with a character she’d like. This store has an exchange policy so we went directly to the shelf to find a possible replacement. After a few minutes, we were immediately stopped by a middle-aged Asian woman who spoke to us very rudely. She didn’t ask us if we needed any help, and immediately went straight to accusing us of stealing without any time for explanations, despite us having the receipts.

She told us that exchanges or returns were not allowed, and even more absurdly claimed that we should have notified someone before entering the store if we intended to make a return. This was crazy since the cashiers were helping other customers, there was no one to greet us at the door or ask us if we needed any help. This is my daughter’s second time ever at this store and nobody has told her of this rule. The receipt clearly states returns are accepted within 30 days. Nowhere on the receipt, website, or in the store is this “inform us before you enter” policy mentioned. If such a rule exists, they should have someone at the entrance explaining it, or at the very least, display it clearly. The toy we were trying to exchange was under $20, yet we were treated with complete disrespect—as if we were trying to scam or steal the store. Mind you, my daughter works two jobs and works hard for her money. It was a shocking and disappointing experience, and by far the worst customer service I have ever received. This is the first negative review I’ve ever written, but I feel it's necessary to warn others. Avoid this store at all costs. They DO NOT value...

i went here for the first time with my friend and picked out some lovely smelling incense. i loved them! i got to the counter and the person working said that i had grabbed the testers and i told her i would switch them out but she insisted on switching them for me. a couple days later, i went to use them and realized she had given me two scents i did not pick out. so today, i went back to the store and went to the counter to exchange the scents and before i could get my story out, she cut me off and said “these aren’t even the testers.” and i said “yes, if you would let me finish my story, i did not say these were the testers. im hoping to get an exchange for her giving me the wrong ones when she swapped the testers, but i don’t have a receipt because i did plan on using my purchases.” that’s when she told me she can’t just exchange them and questioned why i wouldn’t come in the same day—then i knew this was not about a receipt. this was about her assuming my story was off or untruthful. why would i be able to exchange them the same day without my receipt when she already told me that all exchanges require the receipt? i really don’t appreciate the way this woman acted toward me for simply wanting the store to fix THEIR mistake and not make me eat $12 i spent on...