Tweet of the Week #97: A Guide to Japan’s ‘Off’ Stores

Bargain hunters in Japan know all about the “Off” stores which are great places to find used and/or cheap stuff, from books, video games, phones, clothes, and even…cars and liquor.

All you need is a little bit of patience to dig through the messy aisles for treasures, but isn’t that the joy of thrifting? Let’s take a look at all the different outlets of the “Off” brand.

Hard-Off (ハードオフ)

Going back to the early 90s, Hard-Off has 897 stores around Japan as of February 2019. This chain deals with audiovisual equipment, PC, music instruments, and other electronic miscellaneous such as cables, batteries, and so on. It’s a treasure trove for vintage electronic lovers.

ハードオフって一日中店内見ていられる気がする pic.twitter.com/euUzN118EI

— MoonSnow＠転職活動中 (@Moon5n0w) August 17, 2020

ハードオフって一日中（いちにちじゅう）店内（てんない）見（み）ていられる気（き）がする

=

“I feel like I can spend the whole day looking inside a Hard-Off store.”

Book-Off (ブックオフ)

Perfect for avid readers looking for secondhand books, especially in foreign languages, Book-Off is Japan’s biggest chain for all things you can read and more. Indeed, most Book-Off stores also have video games, DVDs, music, and small electronics corners.

Contrary to regular Japanese book stores, books are not wrapped in plastic (unless they’re brand new), so Book-Off stores are notorious for their standing readers, oblivious to the surrounding shoppers.

鶴橋駅を通ったので、有名な「ブックオフの店内に出入りするための自動改札機」をみてきた。 pic.twitter.com/YRX5MvpeIg

— ざまッチ (@stride1091) September 23, 2016

鶴橋駅（つるはしえき）を通（かよ）ったので、有名（ゆうめい）な「ブックオフの店内に出入（でい）りするための自動改札機（じどうかいさつき）」をみてきた。

=

“Since I passed by Tsuruhashi Station, I saw the famous ‘automatic ticket gate for entering and leaving the Book Off store’.”

Liquor-Off (リカーオフ)

Fancy some good old fashioned whisky or scouring for the cheapest wine on the market? With an amazing variety of alcohol of all sorts and origins, Liquor-Off comes to the rescue of both amateurs and classy drinkers. Brought to the world by Hard-Off in 2013, Liquor-Off is actually not that cheap and resells old stock of spirits from private collectors or other stores.

今日はずっと行こうと思っていた、リカーオフ八王子へ。
高いお酒いっぱい！笑 pic.twitter.com/Vkx1tXP59X

— Neenu Mackenzie (@umaizoumaibo) July 4, 2020

今日（きょう）はずっと行（い）こうと思（おも）っていた、リカーオフ八王子（はちおうじ）へ。 高（たか）いお酒（さけ）いっぱい！笑

=

“Today I went to Hachioji’s Liquor-Off which I had always wanted to go to. There are a lot of expensive liquors! lol”

Mode-Off (モードオフ)

Looking to renew your wardrobe without spending too much money? Mode-Off is the place to go if you have an eye for secondhand fashion gems and time to browse the cluttered shelves. You can also “sell” your old clothes for 20 yen every 10 kilos.

Remember you’re not in for the cash, but for the eco-friendly habit.

こんにちは！モードオフ秋葉原店です。当店ではメンズアイテムはもちろんウィメンズ300円コーナーなどのお品物も沢山取り揃えております！秋葉原にお越しの際には是非お立ち寄り下さいませ！#モードオフ　#秋葉原　#ジャンク通り #古着 #akiba pic.twitter.com/VMDBv13mFh

— MODEOFF(モードオフ)　秋葉原店【公式】 (@mode_akiba) September 6, 2020

こんにちは！モードオフ秋葉原店（あきはばらてん）です。当店（とうてん）ではメンズアイテムはもちろんウィメンズ300円（さんびゃくえん）コーナーなどのお品物（しなもの）も沢山（たくさん）取（と）り揃（そろ）えております！秋葉原にお越（こ）しの際（さい）には是非（ぜひ）お立（た）ち寄（よ）り下（くだ）さいませ！

=

“Hello! We’re Akihabara’s Mode-Off. Our store has tons of items in our men’s and women’s ¥300 corners!  Please drop in when you come to Akihabara!”

Off-House (オフハウス)

Off-House (which fancies a slightly different name from the rest of the Off series) is kind of a mashup of Hard-Off & Mode-Off with a zest of chaos.

This particular brand focuses on secondhand clothes, bags, and all you need for your home. You’ll find everything including appliances, furniture, tableware, indoor & outdoor materials, and sports equipment. Basically, anything you can think of to furnish your home, kids’ toys included.

https://twitter.com/of_sakae/status/1303175079979659264?s=20

くまさんたちが皆（みな）さまをお出迎（でむか）え

かわいいくまさんたちがいっぱいいます (^ ^) また、売（う）り場（ば）を変更（へんこう）しております ^_^ まだまだ途中（とちゅう）ですが、掘（ほ）り出（だ）し物（もの）が見（み）つかるかも

=

“Our bears welcome you! We have a lot of cute bears. Also, we’ve changed the sales counters. We’re still in the middle of changing, but you may find some bargain.”

Hobby-Off (ホビーオフ)

Not as famous and popular as otaku paradise Mandarake, but still convenient to complete your goodies collection, Hobby OFF provides secondhand figures, games, plastic models, and all things deserving to be preciously exposed on your shelves.

https://twitter.com/danna1213/status/1303319279681503233?s=20

久（ひさ）し振（ぶ）りのホビーオフでちょっと見学（けんがく）

けろっぴグッズを買（か）うかどうか迷（まよ）ったけど今回（こんかい）は我慢（がまん）

ちょっとしたプレゼントになりそうなものを発見（はっけん）したのでゲット

チェックインしたらポイントゼロだった

=

“I did a little tour of Hobby-Off after a while.

I was wondering whether to buy Keroppi goodies or not, but this time I’ll control myself.

I found something that could become a gift, so I got it.

I got zero points when I checked in.”

Garage-Off (ガレージオフ)

The only Off store missing from Hachioji’s infamous Eco Town is Garage-Off, the last (but not least?) branch specialized in car parts and accessories such as audiovisual equipment to do some mean tuning. They sell used bicycles too!

ここにならべて勝手にガレージオフをしましょう( ) pic.twitter.com/ESYtPBF9C8

— S500 (@S500Honda) September 2, 2020

ここにならべて勝手（かって）にガレージオフをしましょう

=

“Let’s willfully display a Garage-Off here!”

 Eco Town (aka all of the above)

Located in Hachioji City, in the Western part of Tokyo metropolis, Eco Town is a one of a kind mall dedicated to second-hand shopping and open all year round. It’s also the only place in Japan to list up all (but one) “Off” chains proudly brought by Hard-Off Group.

Their motto? “Reuse” to make the world a better, cleaner place.

ｽｹﾞｪ。全部入ってるよ笑 pic.twitter.com/Ldk7cJNLm4

— プラレールの宿の松岡さん (@plarail_bot) August 29, 2020

ｽｹﾞｪ。全部（ぜんぶ）入（はい）ってるよ笑（わら）

=

“Wow! It’s got all of them lol”

While each store has its own specialties, they often kind of overlap creating a wonderful mess you’ll enjoy getting lost in.

Japanese vocabulary to resell stuff at “Off” stores

Selling your stuff at Book-Off, Hard-Off, and so on, is really easy and you actually don’t even need to know much Japanese. But of course, you’re here to learn some key vocabulary along the way!

When you come in, you’ll have to look for the 買（か）い取（と）り counter, where you’ll hand out your bags to the staff. Quick sentence to start with:

「本（ほん）」を売（う）りたいです = I’d like to sell「books」.

You can replace 本 by any item you want to sell:

• 服（ふく）: clothes
• ゲーム: games
• スマホ: smartphone
• フィギュア: model figures
• If you’re looking to sell heavy stuff, such as furniture or home appliances, you’ll have to check (in person at the counter or on the phone) with nearby stores beforehand whether they’re interested in what you’re selling. From there, you can set the 買取（かいとり）サービス , “purchase & pick up service”, in motion. The store staff will come to your place to take your stuff away (you’ll be paid after appraisal).
• Not sure how to say it in Japanese? Good old “これ” (“this“) will get the message across.

At the counter, you’ll be given a number. Prepare to kill some time in the store while the staff is appraising the value of your things (査定（さてい）), but don’t wander too far off if you’re not confident you’ll understand your number when they call it. When the appraisal is complete, they tell you the amount of money you can get. For stuff that has no value, you can opt to take it back or donate it to the store.

If you’re satisfied with the amount, you then need to provide an identifying document (本人確認書類（ほんにんかくにんしょるい）) that shows your full name (氏名（しめい）), your address (住所（じゅうしょ）), and your age (年齢（ねんれい）). Copies or expired documents are not accepted:

• 運転免許証（うんてんめんきょしょう）: (Japanese) Driver’s license
• 在留（ざいりゅう）カード: Residence card
• 学生証（がくせいしょう）: Student card
• 健康保険証（けんこうほけんしょう）: Health insurance card

Foreign documents, such as your passport or your home country’s driver’s license, are not accepted as they do not show a Japanese address.

Once your ID is cleared and you’ve signed up the receipt, you’ll get the money in cash on the spot. Happy bargain hunting and selling!

Vocabulary

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service