For the past few years, I’ve become more and more exposed to the indie bookstore and library café scene in Indonesia, with cities like Yogyakarta and Bandung being the hot spot centre of such a scene—and, of course, Jakarta as the capital is laden with them too. I’ve kept tabs of notable names to visit and check out, but for the longest time, I’ve never really done anything with the information…until now.
Last week I visited Toko Buku Kobam Menteng, which is a small indie bookstore located at the ground floor of Rumah Flat Menteng, which made sensational news in 2025. The house is a collective effort between friends and colleagues who pooled money together to build an apartment building independently. It was a quiet resistance against the rising land price, especially in the Menteng area, which has become so astronomical that young people starting a family can no longer afford it. And, somehow, under all those apartments now lie this bookstore filled with historical and cultural books.
For the past few years, I’ve become more and more exposed to the indie bookstore and library café scene in Indonesia, with cities like Yogyakarta and Bandung being the hot spot centre of such a scene—and, of course, Jakarta as the capital is laden with them too. I’ve kept tabs of notable names to visit and check out, but for the longest time, I’ve never really done anything with the information…until now.
Last week I visited Toko Buku Kobam Menteng, which is a small indie bookstore located at the ground floor of Rumah Flat Menteng, which made sensational news in 2025. The house is a collective effort between friends and colleagues who pooled money together to build an apartment building independently. It was a quiet resistance against the rising land price, especially in the Menteng area, which has become so astronomical that young people starting a family can no longer afford it. And, somehow, under all those apartments now lie this bookstore filled with historical and cultural books.
📷 DJI Osmo Pocket 3
The Shelves under the Flat
The bookstore itself is attracting a lot of attention, first from the name itself. Kobam is a well-known slang for ‘drunk,’ as it is the word ‘mabok’ (drunk) spelled backwards—which makes people question and be wary of what could transpire at the bookstore. However, it turns out Kobam is short for ‘Komunitas Bambu’ (Bamboo Community), which speaks of the bookstore’s history. Originating as a community-run publisher that focuses on history books since 1988, the bookstore first took residence in Depok. It was built by the historian J.J. Rizal. Not much explanation can be found about why the bookstore (and publisher) is called thus, but I assume since bamboo plays such a huge role in Indonesia’s history.
Apparently, the one in Menteng is its second outlet—which I’m just finding out now as I’m writing this. It was opened in February 2025. Like its predecessor, it also houses numerous historical books containing sensitive cultural-political issues, aiming to make these books more easily accessible for the people of Jakarta. This store was the collaborative effort between the pioneer J.J. Rizal and Marco Kusumawijaya, the director for Rujak Center for Urban Studies, an NGO focusing on urban issues in Indonesia—and a figure I admire greatly through his book Kota Rumah Kita that I read last year. Not gonna lie, I went to the bookstore that day fully hoping to run into him (lol).
Hand-me-down shirt | swapped dress | Flapper Girl criss-cross tie (old) | swapped skirt | Dr. Martens boots | PACU TUKU tote bag | old tights
The bookstore itself is attracting a lot of attention, first from the name itself. Kobam is a well-known slang for ‘drunk,’ as it is the word ‘mabok’ (drunk) spelled backwards—which makes people question and be wary of what could transpire at the bookstore. However, it turns out Kobam is short for ‘Komunitas Bambu’ (Bamboo Community), which speaks of the bookstore’s history. Originating as a community-run publisher that focuses on history books since 1988, the bookstore first took residence in Depok. It was built by the historian J.J. Rizal. Not much explanation can be found about why the bookstore (and publisher) is called thus, but I assume since bamboo plays such a huge role in Indonesia’s history.
Apparently, the one in Menteng is its second outlet—which I’m just finding out now as I’m writing this. It was opened in February 2025. Like its predecessor, it also houses numerous historical books containing sensitive cultural-political issues, aiming to make these books more easily accessible for the people of Jakarta. This store was the collaborative effort between the pioneer J.J. Rizal and Marco Kusumawijaya, the director for Rujak Center for Urban Studies, an NGO focusing on urban issues in Indonesia—and a figure I admire greatly through his book Kota Rumah Kita that I read last year. Not gonna lie, I went to the bookstore that day fully hoping to run into him (lol).
Hand-me-down shirt | swapped dress | Flapper Girl criss-cross tie (old) | swapped skirt | Dr. Martens boots | PACU TUKU tote bag | old tights
Roller Coaster Single Life
Truth be told, it was on a first date that I ended up going to the bookstore in the first place—you can never go wrong with a bookstore on a first date. Even though the date didn’t pan out the way I wanted to, at least I’ve got the bookstore—the fact that I bought everything here myself is already pretty telling.
This marks the 5th first date I’ve had this year—which is an insane remark, now that I say it out loud. It has been a crazy roller coaster single life for your girl here, guys. If you’d told me from a year ago that I would be here today, she would’ve slapped you across the face.
Truth be told, it was on a first date that I ended up going to the bookstore in the first place—you can never go wrong with a bookstore on a first date. Even though the date didn’t pan out the way I wanted to, at least I’ve got the bookstore—the fact that I bought everything here myself is already pretty telling.
This marks the 5th first date I’ve had this year—which is an insane remark, now that I say it out loud. It has been a crazy roller coaster single life for your girl here, guys. If you’d told me from a year ago that I would be here today, she would’ve slapped you across the face.
In the end, I decided to buy this book that highlights the complicated cultural identity of these melting-pot regions between Java and Sunda. It felt really familiar to me, since one of my best friends Adit is from Indramayu and he’s given me a glimpse of his town’s mixed culture and how that affects himself as a person. This book will only explore one aspect of that—the culinary—but it’s a good intro to a topic I’ve been intrigued by for a while. Also, as I was at the cashier, I noticed this beautiful indigo tote bag for a book by Marco Kusumawijaya. Since the book comes in 3 thick volumes and go beyond my budget, I decided to grab the tote bag instead. A little token of Pak Marco for at home.
What other indie bookstore do you think I should visit?
In the end, I decided to buy this book that highlights the complicated cultural identity of these melting-pot regions between Java and Sunda. It felt really familiar to me, since one of my best friends Adit is from Indramayu and he’s given me a glimpse of his town’s mixed culture and how that affects himself as a person. This book will only explore one aspect of that—the culinary—but it’s a good intro to a topic I’ve been intrigued by for a while. Also, as I was at the cashier, I noticed this beautiful indigo tote bag for a book by Marco Kusumawijaya. Since the book comes in 3 thick volumes and go beyond my budget, I decided to grab the tote bag instead. A little token of Pak Marco for at home.
What other indie bookstore do you think I should visit?