Impressive array of about 17,000 magazines
Tokyo Magazine Bank, Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Library

Held here are 17,000 magazine and journal titles from the Meiji period to the present day, covering a wide range of genres and languages. Relocation from Tachikawa City to Kokubunji City is ongoing: the current Tachikawa facility is closed until July 31 and will operate on a reduced scale from August 1 through December 19. The new building is slated to open in late January 2017, and there are plans to further add to the collection after that.

An abundance of children’s books
Nerima City

Nerima City has the most children’s materials, with 564,556 titles. At Nerima City Public Library, Bookstart events bring infants and their parents or guardians together through the medium of picture books. Participants with infants who bring the “picture book exchange coupon” given out at 4-month well-baby check-ups and their Maternal and Child Health Handbook receive a set of picture books.

Staggering record collection
Koishikawa Library, Bunkyo City

Bunkyo City has the most records of any municipality with 19,686, far more than Shinjuku City’s second-place total of 4,797*. All of this almost 20,000-strong collection is held in Koishikawa Library, and includes many prized recordings of pop and rock from yesteryear as well as classical music, jazz, songs and rakugo traditional Japanese comic storytelling.

Three mobile libraries traveling the streets
Machida City

Machida City is the only municipality which has more than two active mobile libraries. The “Soyokaze” has been doing the rounds of the city for about 40 years. The city is large and long from east to west, and has plenty of undulating terrain, and the service was founded so that people with no library nearby could also enjoy reading.

Where are the most books?
Suginami City

The above are the top three places for the number of titles. The 13 public libraries in first-place Suginami City are all large in size and holding capacity. Second-place Setagaya CIty and third-place Ota City each have 16 public libraries, top amongst Tokyo’s municipalities.

Catering to people from overseas
Minato City

Minato City is home to many Europeans, Americans and other overseas nationals. Catering to these demographics, libraries like Minato Library offer an abundance of foreign-language titles. Tachikawa City’s American military base has given rise to cultural exchange with American cities and an increase in foreigners. From the start, Tachikawa City Central Library has put a lot of effort into stocking foreign-language materials.