"Yet one popular theory suggests a poetic truth. The mere act of walking into a bookstore – known as honya or shoten in Japanese – acts as a psychological release valve from everyday stresses, triggered by the earthy scent of paper and the promise of intellectual escape."

Japan’s creative fight to keep bookstores from turning their last page https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japans-creative-fight-to-keep-bookstores-from-turning-their-last-page