If you've never seen a magazine rack in Japan, it's probably because there are always people squeezed tightly in front of it. Standing elbow to elbow, they will quietly read away the hours, not moving or making a sound. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever actually seen someone in Japan buy a magazine? I have to wonder how these poor publications make a living...
"Hey this isn't a library you know!"
That's the kind of thing I got told as a kid by surly shop attendants who didn't like it when I spent more than 5 minutes looking through a mag back home in Canada, and is the phrase that never fails to pop into my mind when I glance at a scene like in the picture below.
"Oi, koko wa toshokan janai desu yo!"
No shop staff in Japan would ever say such a thing though. As far as they're concerned, magazines are not meant to be bought, they're meant to be leafed through, then put back.

Abandoned Ginza
Tokyo International Forum
The Largest City in the World
Maman under Roppongi Hills
Rainbow Bridge at Night
Gundam Cafe
Barbershop Heads
Tokyo Realtime Akihabara
Usavitch
Ukishima Factory Walk
Library or Bookstore?
Luxurious Lavatory
Hie Shrine Akasaka - 100 Torii
Last Gasp of Sakura
Kawasaki at Night
Concrete and Trash
In Japan, Cute Rules
Takeshita Street - Harajuku
Hanami 2010
Tokyo's Nonhuman Denizens 2
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