Buying Japanese manga in the EU

[D.C.]

Hi,
I recently started learning the basics of Japanese language and to motivate myself I decided to buy an original Japanese manga.
This one came highly recommended: TEKKONKINKREET (Black-White) by Taiyo-Matsumoto.
However I haven't been able to find a distributor online who sells the Japanese version. I did find it on amazon.jp but I can't comply with any of the accepted payment methods. So I thought I'd try posting here.
So, Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu. Doomo sumimasen.

 

[Ashikaga]

Hi

I am guessing that you do not have a credit card. How are you looking to make your payment?

 

[hideway]

I'm glad to read that you are managing to get the japanese basic. But try not to demotivate yourself when you open the book and look at the japanese level. I bought some japanese books while I was on vacations at Tokyo but I can hardly read anything more than 3 or 4 characters in a row.

Try aiming at children's books. Of course you also buy a regular manga just to check how the conversations and the kanji/vocabulary level are.

As for the payment method, I've to agree with ASHIKAGA, it would help to know how are you able to pay for it. Do you use paypal for instance?

 

[D.C.]

Hi,
Indeed I don't have a credit card. They aren't very common in Europe. The most convenient payment method would be through paypal, however I guess a bank transfer could also work.
Also I'm quite aware that I won't be able to read much of the manga, but that would be good motivation for me to keep learning. There's lot of material that has to be mastered (pronunciation, vocabulary, kana, kanji) before I even get near a level where I'll be able to read some basic japanese.
Just have to remember: small steps

 

[hideway]

Hey, if you can get paypal to work you might want to try this website:
Home

I've browsed it a bit and although I didn't find the book you are looking for, it has tons of others, in japanese of course. They only refuse paypal when you try to buy adult content, which I hope it is not a problem.

 

[D.C.]

Hideway,

Thanks for the site. Although they don't have the book I'm looking for, they do take requests. So I just might send them an e-mail.
The downside is that the shipping costs to Europe are pretty high, especially secure shipment.

 

[Hirohurl]

Hi D.C.,

I might be able to find you a copy... I have to go shopping for manga for some customers so I could add tekonkinkurito to my list!!

As a previous poster said, don't despair if some manga seems difficult... I would recommend that you try easier manga, or manga based on animation films such as those by Miyazaki, which you may have seen.

A lot of manga use furigana to help their readers deal with the kanji readings - even elementary kanji in many cases.

Anyway, good luck with your Japanese studies!

 

[D.C.]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, I managed to get the manga from the online shop mentioned by hideway a week ago. I'm still not near the level of understanding it, but I'm making steady progress.

 

[Haruspex]

Best site out there:

nippon-export.com The catalog does no function atm, but you can search for the item. If you contact them and provide them with an ISBN number they will hunt it down for you, although be prepared for a hefty price in case you select the quickest delivery, which is the only option over 3 kilograms, on the other hand it doesn't take a week usually.