
TOKYO/HANGZHOU -- In a commercial center the size of New York City's Grand Central Station, Japan's latest assault on the vast Chinese consumer market is a consciously chic bookstore scattered with sofas and works of art.
Tsutaya Books opened at the Tianmuli, or Maison Moree, mall in Hangzhou, an hour from Shanghai, in October, crammed with the refined touches that have made the chain a favorite in its home country -- plenty of sofas and chairs to encourage customers to have a leisurely browse among its books, magazines and other knickknacks.