
A little over a year ago, someone in Japan tweeted that they would “love to live in Junkudo”, one of the country’s largest book store chains. Little did they know that someone at that very company would not only see the tweet, but decide to make that pipe dream a reality, inviting a small band of book lovers in Tokyo to spend the night in the giant bookstore with sleeping bags, giving them entirely free rein to pick up any book or magazine they pleased.
This year, the company is bringing the “Try Living in Junkudo” project to an even bigger three-story shop in Osaka—and on Halloween, no less!
By applying via their website, you could be one of the 10 lucky people (five pairs) to spend the night inside the Sennichimae Junkudo store in Osaka. From 10:00pm on 31 October until 8:30am on 1 November, you’ll be able to cram in as much reading of the store’s 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet) of books as you can—the only things that are off limits being the books and magazines that are sealed in plastic.
Online applications are being taken now, and will remain open until 5:00pm on 30 September. If more than the required number apply to spend the night in the store, then applicants will be chosen via a lottery draw. Applicants must be over 18, must apply in pairs, and must, of course, be book lovers.
It will cost absolutely nothing to spend the night, but you will be expected to buy at least three books or magazines. Also this is considered a “monitor tour” which is a Japanese term that means you get a heck of a deal, but only in exchange for evaluating the hotel, restaurant, or in this case bookstore you’re visiting by filling out a questionnaire afterwards. Still, that’s a small price to pay to have an entire bookstore at your disposal!
So go ahead and “Try Living in Junkudo” this year if you happen to be in the Osaka area. All you need to do is fill out the application linked below. It’s available only in Japanese, but if you can’t understand it then chances are you probably wouldn’t get a whole lot out of the experience anyway. Unless you just really, really like the smell of books.
Good luck to those of you who enter. Let’s just hope that “a group of 10 strangers spend Halloween night alone in a bookstore” doesn’t turn out to be quite as horror movie-esque as it sounds…
Try Living in Junkudo: Application (Japanese)



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