How I started to open an online bookshop -The very beginning

I always knew that working in corporate jobs, doing the classic 9-to-5, wasn’t for me. No matter where I worked, I never quite felt like I belonged. But figuring out what else to do? That was the tricky part.

So, I waited. I’ve learned from experience that sometimes the best ideas come when the time is right—even if it takes a while.

Then one morning , the idea finally hit me: open an online bookshop specializing in Japanese and Korean literature and manga. It felt so obvious, like it had been waiting for me all along. Books, reading, Japanese and Korean literature, and their cultures have always been my passion. Why didn’t I think of this earlier?! But I knew the answer—it wasn’t the right time before. Now, it finally was.

What excited me even more was thinking about the future. One day, I hope this bookshop will take me back to Japan and South Korea, where I can hunt for rare and unique books that are hard to find here. Just imagining the literary treasures I could discover made the idea feel even more right.

So, I had the inspiration—but I knew almost nothing about running a business. To learn the basics, I signed up for a one-week online course on starting a business. By the time I finished, I felt ready to take the first step.

I registered my business and got to work—building everything from scratch. I emailed publishers to inquire about book orders and started hunting for high-quality second-hand books that fit the vision I had in mind.

Once I had my bookshop’s name figured out, I contacted my cousin, who also happens to be a very talented branding designer. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to work with her. She’s the one who could take the idea in my head and turn it into something real.

After many creative brainstorming sessions and lots of conversations about my vision, the Honnomushi Cat logo and design were born. I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out—it felt like the perfect representation of my bookshop’s soul.

And that’s how it all began! Of course, there were still many things to learn and even more work to do, but I’ll save that part of the story for next time. 😉

(The picture was taken in Hakone Japan in February 2024)