Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2011

They say the best things in life are free, and when you consider that freebies include love, air and Metropolis magazine, it’s hard to disagree. That’s the idea behind Only Free Paper, a newly opened shop that offers hundreds of giveaway periodicals ranging from anime-car mag Itasha-Do to the Waseda student-produced Cue. The shop was created by Kouta Ishizaki, a former salaryman with a longstanding love of free magazines and the incredible array of content they carry. His goals, he explains, were twofold: to get people passionate about paper-and-ink publications, and to gather as many magazines as possible in one place. The result is a small, gallery-like space filled with almost 400 gratis magazines, in addition to Ishizaki’s own collection, which is available to browse in-store. Though the “shop” currently brings in zero revenue, Ishizaki has plans to rent out the room as a gallery or event space.

1-22-11 Shibuya. Open Wed-Mon 11am-8pm, closed Tue. www.onlyfreepaper.com