A crowd gathers in a small basement a short walk from Kichijoji Station in Musashino, Tokyo, to browse a selection of books from about 80 tenants.
Tenants rent boxes about 30 centimeters square to display books for sale under their own shop name at Book Mansion, a bookshop that opened in July 2019 in an about 23-square-meter space.
The monthly rent for the box is 3,850 yen and Book Mansion receives 100 yen for each book sold.
The tenants also take part in the management of the register and customer service at Book Mansion, which is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Book Mansion was started by Ko Nakanishi, 40, who left a major IT company in April 2019 after 16 years on the job. He said his hope is to "offer more people chances to open a bookstore easily without having to worry about the risks associated with doing so."
Mainly through crowdfunding, Nakanishi raised about 5.7 million yen to renovate the space and for other aspects.
After hearing about Book Mansion through social media, Haruka Mogi, 38, visited from the neighboring city of Mitaka with her husband and their two young sons.
"I find this place very attractive as each box has a distinctive character," she said. "In the future, I'd like to rent a box where I can sell books I bought for my children."
She added that it would be good if books could circulate effectively among book lovers.
There are also people, some of whom have started similar businesses, who come to the shop to see how it is run after hearing of its reputation.
"With this system, you can start a bookshop with low risk even in areas where there are no bookstores," Nakanishi said. "I want this way to be shared and to spread all over the country."
Nakanishi also operates with his brother Ken, 39, an around-the-clock unmanned used bookstore that they started in Mitaka in 2013.
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