"Because this small alley shows us all beautiful dimensions of life," the owners of Aranoyumeji Books, Quicksilver and his wife Meryl Streep (who are both writers), always answer with glee whenever first-time visitors ask for the reason why they start a bookstore next to a traditional market. When the day is dawning, fruit and vegetable wholesalers start their daily chores to deliver the freshest ingredients to stores and shops. Meanwhile, the handmade tofu shop around the corner is distributing the tantalizing fragrance of soybeans. People would flock to the small post office at lunch time. In the hair salon for Yamamoto's Hairstyle, the hairstylist is chatting with his customers. It is such a rare happiness to feel people's daily lives and the warm atmosphere in the big city at a close distance. The former part of the name of the bookstore, Arano (あらの), comes from one of Meryl Streep's favorite characters, Witch of the Waste from Howl's Moving Castle by Miyazaki Hayao, and a famous Japanese writer(いのうえ あれの). The later part of the name, yumeji (ゆめじ) derives from (たけひさ ゆめじ), one of Quicksilver's favorite Japanese painters. Besides recently published books selected by Quicksilver, the bookstore deals in used books, ranging from creative writing in Chinese, translated novels, children's books & picture books, comic books, DIY guidebooks to photo albums and other reference books. Of course, independent magazines, like QiuDaoYu, C'est si bon and Meatball Soup, are indispensable. Quicksilver adores Japanese literature and therefore introduces Japanese novels, small-format paperback books (bunkobon, ぶんこぼん) and Japanese living style series books. Although some of them are out of print and not for sale, the owners welcome readers to browse through the books in the bookstore. In addition to books, visitors can find various sundries here, like paper tapes, stamps or dried flowers, making g...