Kyoto is getting one more shop worth dropping into. ammel, a shop selling books and records, is opening its first physical store in Kyoto’s Nishijin district, with a three-day pre-opening from Sunday, October 11 to Tuesday, October 13, 2026. For about two years it has run an online shop and pop-ups around Kawaramachi in Kyoto, building a following in Japan and overseas.
Connecting the “in-between” of people, music and books in Nishijin, a district of craftspeople
Nishijin is a district of people who have made their living from handwork, starting with textile weaving — a place where work and life were never separated but carried on as part of daily routine. In recent years, new shops have been increasing here. The area around Senbon-dori, where the shop stands, follows the line of Suzaku-oji, the great avenue that once ran through the center of the ancient capital Heian-kyo.
The people behind ammel have other jobs and have kept handing books and records to people as their life’s work. That way of working overlapped with the character of the district, which was what decided the location. The owner runs the shop while working as a pharmacist, and hopes to bring the experience of talking with people through medicine into the conversations at the shop.
Photo: Yoso / RYO NAKATSUJI (Architecture: mori design studio)
The shop’s concept is to connect the “in-between”. At a time when digital technology and AI are spreading and the bonds between people, and between people and culture, tend to grow thin, it wants to offer, as a space, the margins, distances and atmosphere that arise between people, music and books.
That idea takes shape in “lecteur < > liseur”, a project running since the shop began. Artists in Japan and abroad who make the records ammel sells are asked to choose books. Learning what music makers are reading becomes a way to move back and forth between records and books. Finding your next read from a favorite artist’s picks is a way of browsing the shelves you will only find here.
New and secondhand books, and records of experimental music and ambient
The books are both new and secondhand, ranging widely from foreign art books and photo books to Japanese novels, humanities, philosophy and picture books. The records are new releases only, centered on experimental music, ambient and house, and extending to techno, modern classical and alternative, chosen without following trends.
Photo: Yoso / RYO NAKATSUJI (Architecture: mori design studio)
At the shop front, a stand serves hand-drip coffee and drinks including alcohol such as a Holzer original, and takeout is available. The second floor is set to open gradually as a gallery and café. After the three pre-opening days, the shop will continue in pre-opening form for the time being, opening every Sunday and on irregular days. Opening days are announced on its official Instagram and online shop. Since it is open on limited days, be sure to check before you go.
Shop information
- Name: ammel
- Pre-opening: Sunday, October 11, Monday, October 12 (holiday) and Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 12:00–20:00
- After that: for the time being, every Sunday and on irregular days (schedule announced on the official Instagram and online shop)
- Address: 685-12 Nishitominaka-cho, Senbon-dori Higashi-iru, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto
- Access: 3 minutes on foot from the Senbon Nakadachiuri stop (Kyoto City Bus) (for the exact location, search “ammel” on Google Maps)
- Website: https://ammel-books.com
- Instagram: @ammelbooks
