Finally we arrive at the last day of our sister trip! After two whirlwind of days, today we decided to take it real easy—by visiting only one place—and prepare to head back home. Since our train was scheduled for around 6-7 PM, we even took our time getting up from bed—waking up, for once, at 10 AM! Even so, we still felt like morning came in the blink of an eye. It must be all that chatting we did until 3 in the morning. I guess, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Initially, one of our plans for Jogja was to visit as many bookstores as possible. While that is still in the agenda, we realised that without a vehicle of our own, it is that hard to get around the city—because of the problem I mentioned in the previous post—so we opted to go to just one relatively nearby bookstore: Toko Buku Natan.

Finally we arrive at the last day of our sister trip! After two whirlwind of days, today we decided to take it real easy—by visiting only one place—and prepare to head back home. Since our train was scheduled for around 6-7 PM, we even took our time getting up from bed—waking up, for once, at 10 AM! Even so, we still felt like morning came in the blink of an eye. It must be all that chatting we did until 3 in the morning. I guess, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Initially, one of our plans for Jogja was to visit as many bookstores as possible. While that is still in the agenda, we realised that without a vehicle of our own, it is that hard to get around the city—because of the problem I mentioned in the previous post—so we opted to go to just one relatively nearby bookstore: Toko Buku Natan.

📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens + ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, 23.8 mm
Flip through Local Aesthetics
For as long as I can remember, when I think of Yogyakarta, Natan Bookstore is what comes to mind. It’s not really just the bookstore in and of itself, but I’d like to think that Yogyakarta is the ideal place to find small, neighbourhood businesses that still preserve the region’s local aesthetics and even display it proudly for tourists and natives alike. Though I’d been to Yogyakarta many times in the past 5 years, somehow I’d never had the chance to really explore the city as I’d preferred—thus, my dream to visit Natan Bookstore remained a dream for years…until today.


Maybe a little bit about the bookstore before we go on. Natan Bookstore is a relatively unique bookstore, taking roots in a cultural heritage building called Ndalem Natan built in 1857. Aside from the bookstore, the building itself also has an art museum, an eatery and a guesthouse. Although small, the bookstore has a wide array of books in store—but it is most well-known for the range of indie books available. Not to mention, the product price is relatively low—although due to external factors, this may change over time.
For as long as I can remember, when I think of Yogyakarta, Natan Bookstore is what comes to mind. It’s not really just the bookstore in and of itself, but I’d like to think that Yogyakarta is the ideal place to find small, neighbourhood businesses that still preserve the region’s local aesthetics and even display it proudly for tourists and natives alike. Though I’d been to Yogyakarta many times in the past 5 years, somehow I’d never had the chance to really explore the city as I’d preferred—thus, my dream to visit Natan Bookstore remained a dream for years…until today.


Maybe a little bit about the bookstore before we go on. Natan Bookstore is a relatively unique bookstore, taking roots in a cultural heritage building called Ndalem Natan built in 1857. Aside from the bookstore, the building itself also has an art museum, an eatery and a guesthouse. Although small, the bookstore has a wide array of books in store—but it is most well-known for the range of indie books available. Not to mention, the product price is relatively low—although due to external factors, this may change over time.


When my sister and I arrived at the bookstore, we were awed by the environment around the building. It is fairer to say that it’s a complex of traditional buildings, with each building serving different purposes. There are a total of around 4-5 buildings in this complex, with one main plaza in the middle (called pendopo in Javanese), where people can sit down and enjoy their food and drinks or read books. The building closest to the entrance gate is for the art museum and café/restaurant, while the building behind the pendopo is for the guest house. The buildings on the far left (farthest from the entrance gate) are where you’ll find the bookstore(s).
Yes, apparently, there are two parts of Natan Bookstore. The one facing the street is for the local/Indonesian books, while the one behind it is for the English/imported books. I was on the search for a specific type of book, so we went inside the local books area. To be honest, quantity-wise, it wasn’t super impressive. However, the books that I did find there were mostly titles I’d never seen anywhere else before. Since I was looking for a specific kind of book—a poetry book with images in it, as a reference for work—I decided to just ask the shopkeeper. He was pretty knowledgeable and helpful in finding what I need—we didn’t end up finding it, but I opted for something ‘close enough.’ And he sold me an Afterhours book, as if I needed further convincing. It was really a lovely experience.


Wabi Sabi ID shirt // thrifted skirt + jacket // old sandals // vintage bag // photos of me by Akita


When my sister and I arrived at the bookstore, we were awed by the environment around the building. It is fairer to say that it’s a complex of traditional buildings, with each building serving different purposes. There are a total of around 4-5 buildings in this complex, with one main plaza in the middle (called pendopo in Javanese), where people can sit down and enjoy their food and drinks or read books. The building closest to the entrance gate is for the art museum and café/restaurant, while the building behind the pendopo is for the guest house. The buildings on the far left (farthest from the entrance gate) are where you’ll find the bookstore(s).
Yes, apparently, there are two parts of Natan Bookstore. The one facing the street is for the local/Indonesian books, while the one behind it is for the English/imported books. I was on the search for a specific type of book, so we went inside the local books area. To be honest, quantity-wise, it wasn’t super impressive. However, the books that I did find there were mostly titles I’d never seen anywhere else before. Since I was looking for a specific kind of book—a poetry book with images in it, as a reference for work—I decided to just ask the shopkeeper. He was pretty knowledgeable and helpful in finding what I need—we didn’t end up finding it, but I opted for something ‘close enough.’ And he sold me an Afterhours book, as if I needed further convincing. It was really a lovely experience.


Wabi Sabi ID shirt // thrifted skirt + jacket // old sandals // vintage bag // photos of me by Akita




Keep the Binding Intact
Aside from looking at books and admiring the architecture of Natan bookstore, this was also a chance for me to finally meet up with an illustrator friend, Mas Isa Indra Permana. You have surely heard of him as he is one of the most well-known Indonesian illustrators with the most unique style. I’ve admired him for years!
If you’ve been following this blog since at least 10 years ago, you might know this—back in 2016 I interviewed Mas Isa on this little blog. Ever since then, we have been pretty friendly with each other online, yet never really met up in real life—unless you count our 3-second encounter at Artket 2 earlier this year. I’m always amazed that he remembers me and supports my work as much as I support his 🥹✨
Since Mas Isa (and his family) lives in Jogja, I thought of nudging him while I was in town just in case he was up for a meetup—wishful thinking, I know, but there’s no harm in trying, right? 😂 Well, it turns out he and his family were down to hang out at Natan and, so finally, we met.

Aside from looking at books and admiring the architecture of Natan bookstore, this was also a chance for me to finally meet up with an illustrator friend, Mas Isa Indra Permana. You have surely heard of him as he is one of the most well-known Indonesian illustrators with the most unique style. I’ve admired him for years!
If you’ve been following this blog since at least 10 years ago, you might know this—back in 2016 I interviewed Mas Isa on this little blog. Ever since then, we have been pretty friendly with each other online, yet never really met up in real life—unless you count our 3-second encounter at Artket 2 earlier this year. I’m always amazed that he remembers me and supports my work as much as I support his 🥹✨
Since Mas Isa (and his family) lives in Jogja, I thought of nudging him while I was in town just in case he was up for a meetup—wishful thinking, I know, but there’s no harm in trying, right? 😂 Well, it turns out he and his family were down to hang out at Natan and, so finally, we met.








Mas Isa came with his wife Mbak Inchan and their (if I’m not mistaken) 4-year-old daughter Suri. Since it was our first real meeting, we talked about all sorts of things to get to know each other better. Mas Isa and Mbak Inchan were also kind enough to tell us little trivia and insider info about Jogja—sadly, we were leaving that same evening, but next time I’ll be sure to hit up the places they’d mentioned. Little Suri was so expressive, energetic and funny the whole time, although she was really shy at first. Sometime during our conversation, the rain started to pour and both groups became anxious about how to get back home (or to the hotel). By the time the rain let up, it was time for my sister and me to go. It was a lovely time to wrap up our holiday in Jogja — thank you Mas Isa, Mbak Inchan and Suri!
That’s a wrap, everyone! Thank you for reading along!
Where do you think we should go next?



Mas Isa came with his wife Mbak Inchan and their (if I’m not mistaken) 4-year-old daughter Suri. Since it was our first real meeting, we talked about all sorts of things to get to know each other better. Mas Isa and Mbak Inchan were also kind enough to tell us little trivia and insider info about Jogja—sadly, we were leaving that same evening, but next time I’ll be sure to hit up the places they’d mentioned. Little Suri was so expressive, energetic and funny the whole time, although she was really shy at first. Sometime during our conversation, the rain started to pour and both groups became anxious about how to get back home (or to the hotel). By the time the rain let up, it was time for my sister and me to go. It was a lovely time to wrap up our holiday in Jogja — thank you Mas Isa, Mbak Inchan and Suri!