Sooooo… I couldn’t let go and after a bit of searching found that the JCA books are available via Amazon Japan, and for not that bad a price 😀
Ordered all five, and the total was about 67€ per book including shipping, customs, and VAT (339.04€ total). They are of very high quality, printed on rather heavy stock paper. Print quality is great.
Very fast shipping too, ordered on Friday and the books were available to collect today already.
The only thing you need to do is create a separate account for the amazon.jp site as they are a wholly separate entity from the global one.
Now that I had a second look, it seems that at least some books from the series are available (as is or as preorders) on some other Amazon regions. Oh well, I have mine already ☺️
Still more books to add (Nancy Singleton’s ”Japan: The Cookbook”, and some others) but those should keep me occupied through my four week summer vacation (and more).
Any books that you are essential in your opinion?
by dhruan