Book café "TOE LIBRARY PARC" Featured in Nikkan Gendai: An Asakusa Bookstore Filled with the Scent of Wood

The book café "TOE LIBRARY PARC" is housed in a two-story building behind Asakusa View Hotel that retains a Showa-era charm. The building is a wooden structure about 60 years old with a floor area of about 50 tsubo. It previously housed a beauty salon and a real estate agency on the first floor and apartments on the second. The owner, Yoshiro Nishio (43), did almost all of the renovation himself, and the café opened in August 2024.

Highlights Inside

• Vintage furniture is arranged in a space filled with the scent of wood
• Past issues of magazines are displayed for browsing and purchase (including back issues of "TRANSIT," "BRUTUS," and "Meets Regional")
• The second floor holds Mr. Nishio's own book collection, including works by Yoshiharu Tsuge, Taiyo Matsumoto, Naoya Shiga, and Masahiko Sato
• New books, tableware, and secondhand clothing are also sold
• A total of 25 seats

The Name and the "Park of Expression"

"TOE" stands for "Tales & Original Experiences." "PARC" means "park" in French, and "a park of expression" is its hidden theme. Mr. Nishio has also run "TOE LIBRARY," a four-room hotel with vintage furniture on the north side of Senso-ji, since 2020. Inspired by messages left by guests, he wanted to open a place where people can express their feelings. The inspiration reportedly came from his visit to Shakespeare and Company in Paris in his early thirties.

Store Information

• Address: 3-3-14 Matsugaya, Taito-ku, Tokyo
• Access: 8-minute walk from Asakusa Station (Tsukuba Express); 12-minute walk from Tawaramachi Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza Line)
• Hours: 11:00–19:00 (from 10:00 on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays; open until 21:00 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays)
• Closed: Open every day