Bookoff Super Bazaar Chiba Makuhari

Lots of stuff

If you live in Japan for any length of time, you will likely come across Book-Off and its various offshoots, a chain of stores selling high-quality secondhand goods. If you’re lucky, you might stumble onto a Book-Off Super Bazaar like the one in Makuhari, which are like your usual Book-Off but even bigger and with even more stuff. The Makuhari Bookoff Super Bazaar, as promised, sells what feels like everything. From kimonos to CDs, figurines to surfboards, and a great many clothes for all ages, there seems to be something for just about everyone. In my case, I was after secondhand English books and it didn’t disappoint, with three full bookshelves of all manner of English fiction and non-fiction books (go down the main aisle and turn left when you reach the books; the foreign books are a couple of aisles in). I’m sure there are other places with more, and there was quite a surplus of books on certain topics there (if you want Christian self-help books, this could be your place), but it was still pretty good for suburban Chiba and I got to walk away with two books I wanted for less than 1000 yen. I think this could be quite an exciting stop if you haven’t visited larger Bookoffs before. However, if you’re out in the suburbs already, there is every chance you already have. In that case, it’s going to depend on what you want. For clothes, I have a local Hardoff that serves me better. If you’re coming out from Tokyo, you might find a bigger selection for a (slightly) shorter train trip if you go to the Super Bazaar at Minami Funabashi instead. That said, it’s still worth a visit, particularly if it’s convenient or part of a trip you’re already making to the Makuhari area. Do note that it’s located on the second floor, above the Nissan dealership - use the escalator outside the shop to reach the entrance.