How Does One Say "Bookstore" in Japanese?

I have a 'pen pal'* who travels all over the world for work. He has recently been in Japan and informed me that he went shopping at the self-proclaimed "Largest Bookstore in the World." This piqued my curiosity, as bookstores, hardware and electronic stores are the only places I actually like to go shopping. I have to bring in a pre-determined amount of cash at a bookstore or I ruin my monthly budget. I posed several important questions about the size, content, number of levels, languages available, etc. None of my queries have been answered thus far.

The wait for his response has sorely tested the shallow reserves of patience I possess. This is a bookstore, for crying out loud! I NEED details! (What I need is a stable job so that, should this same situation happen again, I may be in a position to purchase a plane ticket and visit the location myself.) But, alas, one cannot reach through the computer nor across time and space to shake the information out of him.  If it was possible, I believe I would have done it. (If you could peer into my brain you would have seen a very funny image: tiny woman shaking a man who is over a foot taller.)

Upon telling a mutual acquaintance about this bookstore, I was asked if it is larger than the one in Portland, OR. I had never heard of this one! I know! It's shocking that I did not know about this bookstore. Powell's City of Books encompasses a whole city block. I went into sensory overload visiting their website. This would definitely be a less expensive trip--relative to plane ticket price--than flying to Tokyo; I could road trip to Oregon, taking pictures along the way.

Now, all I need is a more reliable car, disposable income, and a month of vacation time. A new item has just gone on The List.


*There needs to be a new term for pen pal, as pens have only been used once in the history of our correspondence. But, for lack of a better-sounding term, pen pals it is. Email buddies doesn't sound right.