I wonder if anyone remembers the good ol' Yajimaya Singapore bookstores that were located in the old Plaza Singapura and Thomson Plaza?
I was just looking through some old books in my cupboards when I stumbled upon this old book mark tucked into one of the books.
There were apparently two stores in Singapore and one in Malaysia.
I remember the one in Plaza Singapura with great fondness. I remember visiting them in the late seventies and early eighties. I remember buying those Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigator books there when I was still in primary school. That was before Kinokuniya came to Singapore with its expensive volumes.
Presently, Kinokuniya is the only surviving Japanese bookstore chain from what I know. Maruzen had departed from Millennia's Walk and Ngee Ann City a few years ago. I have always found that Kinokuniya priced their books 20% more than Borders through many volume-by-volume comparisons and strangely enough, quite a few people I know have the erronenous perception of the opposite! (ie The Cambridge History of the Roman World is $80.95 in Borders and over $100.00 in Kinokuniya! I have also done many other book-to-book comparisons.) I have spoken to one of the overseas acquisitions manager at Kinokuniya previously on this as well as one of their promotions manager. They insisted otherwise. Oh well. I hold a Kinokuniya privilege card and I could, of course, wait for those 20% off sale. Right!
Anyway, the book mark brought back quite a few memories.
3 comments:
I do not remember the bookstore, only Yaohan, the bakery, the video games / amusement rides arcade, and a restaurant with a name I cannot remember. It was located at the outdoor courtyard. I remember liking the roast chicken there.
Your post has also stirred in me nostalgia about Centerpoint and Cuppage Centre of the mid 1980s very fondly. I attended an intro to computers class at Microkid Computer School (I think that is what it was called). Plus there were cotton candy machines installed in various locations. Lunch at the hawker center in Cuppage Center after class, usually bah kut teh.
I remember the basement of Plaza Singapura! It was the place to be then.
There was an arcade in the basement. There was even a merry-go-round then! And there were other rides too. It was exciting.
And the bakery there? I am sure you remember that. The candy floss machines there? It was quite something.
Centrepoint and Cuppage Centre. Yeah. Times the Bookstore was one of the better ones then. That's not saying much though.
I recall the old Cuppage Centre, but not with nostalgia. I recall because I remember being there one Friday night and seeing a lot of smokers. Possibly druggies. I am not sure. Hahahaha.
The bookmark brought back fond memories! Staff of Yajimaya.
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