The annual summer "Shimogamo Summer Secondhand Book Festival" began on August 11, 2024, at the "Tadasu Forest" of Shimogamo Shrine, a World Heritage Site in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City. Visitors were eagerly searching for the books they were looking for while cooling off in the shade of the trees.
The Kyoto Old Book Study Group, a group of secondhand bookstores in Kyoto Prefecture, organized the 37th festival. It is said to be one of the largest outdoor secondhand book markets in Japan, and this time 21 stores, mainly from Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe, set up stalls.
At the venue, bookshelves and tents are lined up on both sides of the road, and about 500,000 items from a wide range of genres, including academic books, paperbacks, old maps, picture books, and CDs, are on sale. A nearby woman (42 years old), who visited with her children, said, "We bought more than 10 children's books. Some books are hard to find, so we are grateful."
Until August 16. 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (4:00 p.m. on the last day).
