Jucy Book Picnic was originally scheduled to take place in Yoyogi Park, but due to bad weather it was moved to an office building in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward. | SARAH YANG

In a video, a crowd of young people sit on the carpeted floor of a live house in Shimokitazawa, their heads buried in books as they read silently. A DJ plays mostly ambient music, which gradually becomes more upbeat.

It was the Jucy Book Rave, an event held Sept. 26 that went viral when the video was liked over 18,000 times on X and reposted by several media accounts, including DJ Mag and Afterismm on Instagram.

For a video where not a single word is spoken, it invited very vocal responses. Media accounts dubbed it “a new trend in Japan” and “Japan’s new nightlife craze,” while user comments ranged from keen interest to exuberant praise.…