This Is Japan
Explore everyday life in Japan
Secondhand shops and thrift stores are pretty common in Japan, especially in larger cities. And like secondhand shops and thrift stores in other countries around the world, the stores that can be found in Japan vary greatly in quality, style, and specialty. One store, though, that I think is unique, is a secondhand chain store called Hard-Off.
What makes it unique? Well, to begin with, it is a chain store.
You can and will find Hard-Off stores all over Japan. In addition to Hard-Off stores, you will also find Hard-Off affiliates like Book-Off, House Off, Garage Off, Hard-Off Audio Salon, etc. While Hard-Off tends to be an all-in-one store, its affiliates are specialty stores, meaning that you will find mainly books at Book-Off, furniture and household appliances at House Off, automotive goods at Garage Off, and instruments and stereo equipment at Hard-Off Audio Salon.
Being a chain store, Hard-Off (and its affiliates) maintains a level of quality that I don’t think is often seen in the used goods market. Not only that, but the items that you will find for sale in these stores aren’t necessarily cheap.
When I think of going into secondhand stores, finding guitars and stereo equipment, or wedding dresses and suits on sale for over one or two thousand dollars isn’t something that I consider normal. Finding well-preserved books carefully inserted into plastic sleeves and on sale for a hundred dollars or more also isn’t something that I associate with your typical secondhand store. But at Hard-Off and its affiliates, this is rather common.
For game collectors, record collectors, manga collectors, or even people interested in buying vintage sound equipment, cameras, or traditional Japanese clothes and accessories, Hard Off can be a very fun place to go shopping. As with any secondhand store, you never know what you are going to find. On top of that, your chances of finding what passes as a collector’s item in your country, while just being an average item in Japan and priced as such, are fairly high.
Whatever the purpose of your visit to Japan may be, spending a few hours browsing a Hard-Off on a rainy day is well worth your time.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.
Book off rules!!!
I agree. I like all of these stores a lot.
That place really looks like it'd be worth a visit. Quality all around based on the photos. Nice post.
It definitely is. You can find them all over Japan. They also have some stores in California, Hawaii, and NYC, though I've never been to the stores in the States. I wonder if the standards and quality changes there.
I could only guess, but I think the Japanese stores would have a much higher quality score than anything in the States.
That's my guess too. For some reason, things tend to get preserved really well over here. And if they don't, they seem to get thrown out.
Useful information. Well done.
I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Oh gosh, I love the Hard Off! They have great cheap video games for those times when I want to go on a nostalgia gaming trip. When my old Game Boy broke I was able to get a working replacement there for ¥300. Great deal!
I had a Game Boy up until about two years ago. One of my students actually gave it to me when I first got here and he found out I didn't have any game systems at all. He didn't understand how I could get through a week without playing games. I was actually surprised by how fun it was to play a Game Boy all these years later. 300 yen is a good deal!
Getting through a week without games... * gasp * if only I had enough free time to play on a weekly basis. I'm lucky if I can spare one Saturday a month for my precious Final Fantasy. My PS4 feels lonely.
Some of those old Game Boy games do hold up surprisingly well over the years and I don't even mind the black & white graphics. The Zelda titles are my favorites.
That's funny. I've never played Final Fantasy before, and Zelda never made much sense to me. When I was younger, Mario and SuperTechmo Football were enough for me. Then I went a little off the map and, for a while, mostly left the world of technology behind. I'm glad that I found it again:)
The Mario games were my other favorites. But you haven't lived until you've played Zelda. I'm hoping to get the new Zelda game for Nintendo Switch for my birthday. Might have to take a sick day from work so I can find the time to play it. I love those deep, rich games that take 100 hours to beat. A game like that can last me a whole year!
If that's the case, I'll ask my wife for a Nintendo Switch and a copy of Zelda for our upcoming anniversary:)
She'll answer with a Genkotsu.
Book Off just made the second time (half year) a loss. Someone wrote who likes it :D (German)
http://www.tabibito.de/japan/blog/2017/04/10/bookoff-schreibt-wieder-rote-zahlen/
I'll have to look into that. I didn't even think of checking up on their finances. Thanks!