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.