Hard Off or recycle shop in japan or thriftshop

Hard Off: Affordable Electronics, Instruments, and Recycled Junk

The awkward name, Hard-Off, comes from the fact that it is one of the Off brand chain
stores that sells Hardware or other appliances. Hence the name: Hard-Off.
Occasionally, to save space and money, the Off chain stores are paired together. This
Hard-Off was paired with Off-Home (selling used clothes and home appliances). Ive also
seen Hard-Off paired with Hobby-Off (cheap figurines/stuffed animals and collectible
cards). Ive never seen it paired with Garage-Off (large appliances that would go in your
garage) or Book-Off (cheap, used books).

The layout of the store is pretty simple; the color combination is electric blue and bright
yellow and similar items are grouped together. I spent the bulk of my time looking through
old VHS tapes (and wondering if anyone actually still has a VHS player), browsing through
shiny, wooden guitars, figuring out if any of the 525yen cameras actually worked, and
debating on whether or not to buy a (used) 160 GB I-pod classic for 12,000yen.
Hard-Off has a surprisingly wide variety of electronics. They have the classics like CDs,
DVDs, games for basically any kind of consul, and VHS tapes, along with several rows of
bright blue junk boxes that are overflowing with 105yen to 600yen cameras, lenses,
cables, extension cords, speakers, memory sticks, and several rows of things I wasnt able to
recognize (Im not a technology-savvy person).

They also have instruments: both acoustic and electric guitars, drum sets, a couple flutes,
and a lone trumpet. I think it honestly depends on location; I cant wait to go to one of the
larger Hard-Off chains and see what other kinds of gems they have. The guitars were in the
1,500yen 4,000yen range. There were a couple guitars significantly more expensive,
probably because of the brand or condition, but most were in my price range.

Until I remembered I dont like playing instruments. Spoiler alert: I didnt buy a guitar. My
friend did, though.
The expensive electronics were in glass cases. They had affordable electronic dictionaries,
translating from Japanese to English, German, French, Korean, Chinese, and even one for
Italian. They had a couple third-generation iPhones, various MP3 players, all sorts of Wii
accessories, and (my personal favorite) a couple AKB48 dating simulation games. You could
date all 48 of the AKB girls, showing swimsuit scenes, a romantic date at Tokyo Disneyland,
and a couple wedding dresses.
All in all, I ended up spending about an hour in Hard-Off, browsing through their junk
section of blue bins. I kept hoping I would accidentally find some mysterious and valuable
treasured electronic devise.
I bought this USB port because it was only 105yen and vaguely resembled a childrens game.
A lot of the things they sell are Hard-Off are still in original packaging.


A Review of Hard Off in Hachioji


Wow! Look at all those consoles! A boxed Famicom R.O.B for about $50! Sweet!



The hard part of the name is due to the fact that Japanese people omit the ware part in hardware
and software. Off in Japanese English means discount or sale. So, Hard Off is a place to find
discount hardware (and a lot more).



The Off brand of recycle shops in Japan are massive stores where you can find pretty much anything (like
pawn shops and thrift stores in the States) but, because of their size, and the fact that purchases can
require a car to transport them, they are mostly found in rural and suburban areas. I did, however, manage
to get my 37 TV home through a combination of carrying it, the train and a taxi. That was a workout!

Since I live way out in BFE east Tokyo, Im lucky to have two Hard Offs within biking distance, which is
perfect for the purchases I make-usually video games, occasionally a new console and other odds and ends
like chopsticks, coffee cups and things that fit nicely into a backpack.

Here are my Hard Off pros and cons:

Pros:
Great selection of used games at somewhat reasonable prices. Pricing is based on condition, so if a few
scratches on a console doesnt bother you or you want to go junk bin diving for an AV cord, youll save a
lot.

The amount of old hardware and accessories in general, especially in the junk bins, is a sight to see in its
own right.



The games are well-organized by system and sometimes by rarity so you can browse more quickly.

Cons:
Pricing is also based on demand. These guys know to charge 4200 for a Japanese Goldeneye cart for N64.
You probably wont find any steals.

The in-store musical jingle plays on a loop and makes you want to run out of the store screaming after
about 15 minutes. If I worked at a Hard Off I would have to be deaf.

They are usually located a long walk from train stations in outlying areas of Tokyo proper, so accessibility
can be a problem.

Overall, I really enjoy the Off brand stores and havent been disappointed with any of my purchases. I got a
3-person tent at Off House for 2500 and a Saturn console in a junk bin for 525 that works great!




I love second hand stuff.
If you live iin Osaka, there is a big second hand store in Kuromon Market near Den
Den town.
Nipponbashi
OsakaChuo Ward, Osaka Prefecture 542-0073, Japan
+81 6-6631-0007
kuromon.com


I usually just keep my eyes open when Im at a Japanese friends house; If I see
something that doesnt look like its getting used like it should be, and I need or
would like to have that something, I just casually work my need for such a device
into whatever conversation were having. They know I dont make much at my
current job, so theyre more than happy to lay it into my hands. Plus, it saves them
the trouble of having to dispose of it, which can be troublesome in Japan.


Second-hand stores, called Recycle Shops in Japanese are a great place to get
good stuff for very cheap. Very cheap. And some of the stuff youll find isnt even
used (factory stickers in tact). Check it out.


There was a small one near where I used to live by Noe Uchindai station on Tanimachi line next to the Kansai
Super. Can't remember the name, but you can't miss it. It was very small though.

Here is a large listing of recycle shops across Japan, if you look for shops with the 06- telephone prefix those
will be in the Osaka area. Many of these shops deal in furniture or office products but others also handle
everyday items.
You might also try google maps in Japanese for "Osaka Recycle Shop


recycle shops


WOW!




3-14-50 31450
+81 6-4860-1925 shop-wow.com
1
"WOW
COPYRIGHT(C) RECYCLE SHOP WOW." - shop-wow.com


OVER




5-23-12 1F
+81 6-6654-7784 recycle-over.com
"shop info.. OVER . 558-0032 5-23-12-F. FREEDIAL.0120-
081-124 TELFAX.06-6654-7784 1000 1900" - recycle-over.com


WOW




3-14-50 31450
+81 120-543-709 shop-wow.com
"WOW
COPYRIGHT(C) RECYCLE SHOP WOW." - shop-wow.com



1 Chome-2-24 Tajima, Ikuno Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture,
+81 6-6757-2997 recycle-arai.jp
" info@recycle-arai.jp. image002.jpg
" - recycle-arai.jp



1 Chome-2-24 Tajima, Ikuno Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture,
+81 6-6715-1888 recycle-arai.jp
" info@recycle-arai.jp. image002.jpg
" - recycle-arai.jp







113-43
+81 120-467-674 recycle-osaka.org
2
"" -







2-2-8 4F
+81 50-3685-7587 w-yours.com
"http://shop-verite.com/. .
" - w-yours.com


Hearton Hotel Shinsaibashi




1-5-24
+81 6-6251-3711 hearton.co.jp
3.8 14


Nikko Hotel Osaka




Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Chuo Ward, Nishishinsaibashi, 33
+81 6-6244-1111 hno.co.jp
3.8 29



Osaka Prefecture, Toyonaka, Terauchi, 2 Chome101, 1F
+81 6-4866-4560 kids8787.com
". . Phone. Copyright(C)
Recycle Select Shop HanaHana All Rights Reserved." - kids8787.com


If you like old gadgets and electronics, Japan is the place for you. There are thousands of
recycle shops across Japan that deal in various used goods. Gamers can shop for retro
video game systems and games, musicians can buy the equipment they need, and poor
gaijin can buy TVs and household appliances. Recycle shops are fantastic.

One of Japans largest recycle shop chains: Hard Off
After April 1, 2006 all of this will change. Japanese lawmakers, perhaps under pressure
from electronics companies, passed a law that will ban the sale of many products produced
before 2001. After April 1st, only products with the PSE sticker on them can be sold(the
PSE sticker is on most products manufactured after 2001). The PSE sticker signifies that the
manufacturer paid extra taxes and carried out in-house safety tests to verify that their
product is safe. Logically, almost all electronics produced before the PSE sticker existed
are dangerous.
If you are living in Japan, I advise you to rush to your nearest recycle shop and buy some
electronics. Most shops are desperate to get rid of their pre-2001 electronics and are
having special sales. There are bound to be some amazing deals.
Here are two articles on the subject:
From the Canoe Network:
In gadget-happy Japan, some second-hand sales to be banned
By YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) In gadget-loving Japan, the days of bargain-hunting for many second-hand
electronics are about to end.
Its all because of changes in safety regulations, but the move has drawn an outcry in some
circles. Oscar-winning musician Ryuichi Sakamoto is leading a petition campaign in protest.
At the centre of the controversy is a revision of a law regulating safety for appliances.
Starting April 1, it will become illegal for retailers to sell 450 products manufactured before
2001, including TVs, audiovisual equipment, video-game machines, refrigerators and
electric musical instruments.
Some products such as personal computers and portable digital music players, which have
been regulated under separate standards, wont be affected.
Japanese blogs have been full of some grumbling that the change really is designed to
boost sales of new electronics goods, a gift for manufacturers.
But second-hand retailers say they wont lose that much in sales because six-year-old
products sell for pretty low prices. Demand isnt that great in a country where the newest
gadgets create a lot more excitement.
The system for overseeing safety standards for gadgets was changed in 2001, requiring
products to carry a seal with PSE, which stands for product safety of electrical appliance
and material.
Under an older system, the government carried out expansive tests on products. The new
system relies on voluntary checks by manufacturers.
After a five-year transition period, which expires at the end of March, all products made
before 2001 will be banned from resale.
Individual consumers can continue to own products manufactured before 2001 thats
perfectly legal. And people can still sell the gadgets themselves, including with Internet
auctions. Exporting such goods is also legal.
But doing that as a retail business in Japan will be a clear violation. Bureaucrats have
already begun cracking down on retailers, urging them to take items off the shelves in
preparation for the ban.
Those found guilty of failing to comply after administrative warnings face up to one year in
prison and up to one million yen (US$8,600) in fines. A company could be hit with a fine of
100 million yen ($860,000).
Trade ministry official Kazuhisa Kakui acknowledged the banned products are safe because
they were tested under the old system. He also knows some second-hand retailers are
angry about the legal revision.
But he defended the ban as necessary for Japan to make a clean start with the new
system.
There is a clear purpose for adopting the new PSE mark, Kakui said. We need the stores
to make a proper response.
To Sakamoto, Academy Award-winning composer of the film score for The Last Emperor,
theres a different issue at stake: Used amplifiers, recording equipment, digital tape
recorders and turntables are important tools for musicians.
He is urging people to sign a petition in protest of the PSE law, as the legal revision is now
called. The Japan Synthesizer Programmers Association, which represents musicians,
producers, engineers and teachers, has collected more than 50,000 signatures.
In a joint statement, Sakamoto and two other musicians in the association said the PSE law
will greatly hinder the development of Japanese music and artistic culture.
And from the Japan Times:
THE WORST LAW EVER
Appliance resale ban no April Fools joke
By MARK SCHREIBER
Weekly Playboy (March 14)
Tenka no akuho da! (the worst law ever), is Weekly Playboys take on Japans soon-to-
take-effect PSE Law. Standing for Product Safety of Electrical Appliance and Material, the
new law, which goes into force from April 1, prohibits the resale of electrical appliances
produced prior to 2001.
Were talking about nearly everything that runs on a household current, which the
government has categorized into designated products (112 items that include electrical
plugs, electric thermos jugs, massagers, AC adapters and others), and non-designated
products (338 items that include irons, refrigerators, fans, VCRs, electric shavers, TV sets,
electric toothbrushes and audio equipment etc.). If youve got one made before 2001, you
can keep on using it; but sell one that doesnt carry a PSE sticker and you can be fined up
to 300,000 yen.
The law also applies to imported electrical items. At this point, the hodgepodge of
conditions and exceptions to the PSE Law only seem to add to the confusion.
The new law is expected to be particularly hard on dealers of video-game units and electric
musical instruments that are popular with die-hard fans and collectors. Businesses found in
violation of the law can be fined even more heavily than individuals up to 1 million yen.
And hence Weekly Playboys outrage.
For musicians who want to reproduce the sound of the older analog-type synthesizers, for
example, Weekly Playboy views the issue as a matter of life or death.
I heard about it in the studio about a month ago and was shocked, says musician Ryo
Takagi. It makes me feel really desolate not to be able to buy older products any more.
Theres something weird about all of this.
The law has already become a controversy in cultural circles, with musicians such as
Ryuichi Sakamoto and others circulating a petition opposing it.
For us, the news came as a real bolt from the blue, says Tsuyoshi Nagahashi, president
of Hard Off, a chain of recycle shops. Since Feb. 11, Nagahashis company has halted
purchases of any goods that dont bear a PSE seal to indicate a used product has passed a
safety check.
This law is about putting a priority on safety, a source in the Ministry of the Economy,
Trade and Industry explains to the magazine. It begins with the hypothesis that accidents
are more likely to occur in used products. In other words, the revised law has not
necessarily singled out these used products, but that the situation has been better
clarified.
But Ichiro Horinouchi, president of a Hamamatsu City-based chain of 44 recycle shops
called Seikatsu Soko, remains unconvinced.
Its really suspicious that this law was put into effect for the purpose of consumer
protection, he complains. Unlike the products made these days, which seem to be
designed solely on cost-cutting criteria, many excellent older products can be found. And as
long as customers want such products, well find a way to accommodate them, while
somehow complying with the law.
Meanwhile, Weekly Playboy is convinced that in April when the new laws impact fully
hits home to small-time sellers of used appliances resentment will erupt in earnest.
The Japan Times: March 5, 2006
(C) All rights reserved