Bookshelves designed to fit the undulations of the square
In the Hoshino area, there is a 2,000 square meter plaza surrounded by red maple and golden larch trees. Two wooden bookshelves will be installed in this plaza. Designed to follow the gentle undulations of the plaza, the 10-meter-long bookshelves will also serve as benches, allowing visitors to enjoy books in a space surrounded by autumn leaves.

New reading space to snuggle up with trees
A new reading area with a trapezoidal wooden deck will be installed near the trees in the plaza. The new space is large enough to stretch one’s legs, and the proximity to the trees allows one to get a closer view of the fall foliage. It is also shaded by trees, making it a great place to read a book. If you find a book that interests you, you can move to the reading space and read at your leisure.

The bookshelves and the new space were created by Rebuilding Center Japan (Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture), which takes old materials and tools and reuses them.

500 Books for the Fall Reading Season
There will be 500 books on autumn themes such as “Autumn of Art,” “Autumn of Appetite,” “Autumn of 00,” and so on. Visitors can enjoy encountering books while feeling the autumn in Karuizawa. The books are secondhand books collected with the cooperation of Value Books (Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture), a company that reuses used books via the Internet.

Small mobile bookstore
On weekends, mobile bookstores set up store in the plaza and sell books. Although small, the space lined with well-selected books is like a treasure chest, and the encounter with books is an exciting experience.

On October 8 and 9, “Seiko Kageyama and Friends” will hold a picture book reading session. With themes of forests and animals, this event can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from babies to grandparents. Visitors can spend a relaxing time in a lush forest setting. Reservations are not required, so feel free to join on the day of the event.

Take-out sweets and drinks to enjoy with your reading will be available. Popular Karuizawa sweets stores will open their stores on weekends, offering a wide variety of baked goods made with the best ingredients, such as donuts, butter sandwiches, and cookies.

In addition, “Cafe Hungry Spot” adjacent to the plaza will offer seasonal drinks using apples, a representative autumn delicacy of Shinshu. Two types of drinks will be available: “Fluffy Milk Apple Tea (HOT)” with the subtle aroma of apples and the gentle sweetness of milk, and the refreshing “Apple Ginger Tea (HOT/ICE)” with apple pulp (500 yen each *including tax).