Prices are generally higher than in North America. Most of the CDs that I would buy in the US for around $15-20 is anywhere from ¥2450-5400. Additionally, most

Prices are generally higher than in North America. Most of the CDs that I would buy in the US for around $15-20 is anywhere from ¥2450-5400. Additionally, most of the "extras" are just advertising fluff. Books are priced similarly to the US, but the majority of them are Japan's version of trade paperbacks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunkobon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunkobon) – thin paper cover, cheap thin pages, small format, and wrapped at the register with an additional protective cover (usually with the store logo). Nicer hardcover books seem to be priced about the same as in the US. The biggest thing going for the whole industry (despite everything feeling so cheap) is that there is a book for everything. Manuals for open source software, a biography for some barely known musician, etc.– and you can actually find them browsing a regular Sanseido, Yurindo, or Kinokuniya.