Manga Cafes: All You Can Read

You never know when you might be overcome by a sudden urge to read a comic book, or manga as they are known in Japan. Maybe it is the end of a long day of work, study or play. Or maybe you have a day off and time to kill. Either way, in Japan there are countless manga kissaten, or manga cafes that cater to customers seeking to refresh with a comic book or wanting some downtime.

Unending Shelves of ComicsManga cafes were originally a place to enjoy reading comics and possibly some light food or drink. Today these cafes abound in the heart of Tokyo, particularly in the busy districts of Shinjuku and Shibuya, but can be found throughout Japan. In all, there are over 1,000 such cafes nationwide.

Like conventional cafes, these establishments offer food and drink — but it is their selection of manga that sets them apart. There are cafes boasting tens of thousands of manga paperbacks and magazines — collections far greater than most libraries. Many such cafes have individual booths for privacy and reclining chairs so that visitors can relax in comfort, leisurely losing themselves in the comic of their choice. Like libraries, these cafes typically place a premium on quiet, creating an environment where customers can read in peace. In short, these spaces are a manga lover's paradise.

From around the 1980s, many Japanese youths were fascinated by a number of popular manga often serialized into dozens of volumes. Many of these have found fans overseas with two classic examples being the soccer comic Captain Tsubasa and the adventure epic Dragonball. manga cafes are the perfect place for comic fans who want to read through an entire series but don't want to own it.

Cafe prices vary, but customers are usually charged by the hour. There is generally a basic rate of a few hundred yen for the first hour with additional charges settled when a customer leaves. Many cafes include in their prices drink bars with free refills of drinks such as coffee, tea and juice. Some others offer menus ranging from light to more substantial food including Japanese curry, pasta dishes and even parfait desserts. Today some cafes are trying to set themselves apart with different and higher-quality offerings, such as drip coffee and tea made using tea leaves or even ice cream — all you can drink and eat!

Learning to Draw Manga!Japan's culture of comic books is about more than entertainment. These works contain complex and moving stories that inspire many with dreams and courage. For some people this inspiration drives them to draw comics. Not satisfied with merely reading comic books, these people want to create their own comics to move others. In fact, almost any self-respecting manga lover has at least once entertained such a notion. In Nagoya, one of Japan's three major urban centers, there is a manga cafe that caters to customers with just such dreams.

On the corner of a local shopping avenue is a nondescript shop. Inside are six desks, each prepared with pen, paper and everything one might need to pen a comic. Here customers sit — some for hours on end — using the cafe's supplies to draw comics.

Customers generally draw in silence, but one hallmark of this shop is that many regular customers have become fast friends. They share feedback on the comics they draw, offering encouragement to one another. Computers are also available for customers who prefer to create comics using software, an increasingly popular trend among manga artists.

The shop also offers workshops for beginners and children as well as for the use of software to create manga so that today customers of all ages enjoy making manga. In addition, this shop has served as a forum for"comic"cultural exchange of sorts. Residents from other countries such as the USA, Canada, Spain and so on have each formed their own groups and, together with Japanese, produce their own manga-related publications.

Ever-evolving Manga Cafes

Today manga cafes have continued to evolve. As they compete for customers, some have moved beyond simply offering a space for customers to enjoy reading comics, morphing into a new variety of leisure facility with all kinds of services. Typically shops today can be expected to feature booths with a TV, a computer and Internet access so that when you tire of comics, you can surf online, do some work or even play games.

Increasingly, large manga cafe chains are developing their businesses into all-purpose entertainment spaces. These cafes offer various services including allowing customers to search their selection of comics online, rooms for families to entertain themselves and even darts and billiards. There is no telling what might be next, but clearly manga cafes are evolving and offering new choices to customers to help them better enjoy their leisure time while at the same time enriching Japan's culture of manga.

(July 2012)