Well, I think it is anyway.
Who or what is Nakai?
It’s the closest home centre to my workshop, and it is (I think) closing down. I drove by on Wednesday and saw the parking lot full of cars, and I suspected something was up but I didn’t stop because 1: it was raining and 2: I was short of time.
You might think a little rain isn’t much to worry about, and you are right, rain doesn’t bother me much at all, except that it’s wet and usually cold. But that’s a minor thing really. But on Wednesday it was raining and it wasn’t playing around doing it. Enough rain that I had to stop driving a couple times because I couldn’t see. 10 seconds in the open and I was soaked, so maybe I should have risked it anyway.
I did get there today though, and realized what was going on.
They were dumping all their stock, and I mean dumping. 30-50% off everything in the store, and I mean everything.
Because I was at least 2 days late, the pickings were slim, and I felt like a vulture so I didn’t really feel up to strip mining the place anyway.
What I can’t work out is whether they are just getting all the stuff off the shelves so they can do a makeover or if they are going out of business or just shutting up that one store. The lady at the counter mentioned that they would be shut in a couple of days time, then closed for a week or so then a day off some time and that’s all I managed to pick up.
If they are closing, I am not a happy camper. In the small town there are two home centres close to the workshop, Nakai here and another one which I tend to avoid wherever possible because they fouled up something badly on me. There is another one not too far away, about 10 minutes drive that is interesting, but not great.
The thing is that over here, a home centre is something like a hardware store, an Ikea and a haberdashery store with a little pet shop and some electrical items thrown into the mix. Unfortunately, they usually aren’t all that great…
Around here, there are 2 main chains and a couple smaller chains. The 2 main ones are Nishimura Joy and Daiki.
Nishimura Joy (usually just Joy) is big, prices aren’t bad and they have a good range of items. Our local one went from a poky but cool store into a mammoth thing that has a full supermarket, a craft store and a Baskin Robbins on the same building, and they have room for plenty more stores. The only problem is that they regularly discontinue items, and they are usually the ones that I want.
Daiki is like Joy, only much lamer. They used to be great, and then they all started being like one another, absorbing smaller chains and whatnot and just became a glorified haberdashery store. They do have some useful stuff, but I will visit them once for every 10 joy visits.
There used to be another common chain called Pal, and they were really cool. Daiki took them over and all their coolness bled away.
The smaller chains are Nakai (3 stores here) and Komeri (2 stores I know of). These places tend to be a little more independent, and are better for it. They have some really nifty things on occasion, but the good also needs some bad, and they lack some of the ‘essentials’ that I need. I know Nakai’s deficiencies so I can work around it.
One of the smaller chains is a place called ‘The Masao’. I don’t know why they called it that, but it seems to be a name that a few places that are totally unrelated to each other use just for some kind of brand recognition. These places cater to grandma and grandpa farmer as well as Uncle carpenter. Less filler here, and there is one in particular I love going to because they have 4 20×10 foot shelves stacked with tools and hardware. Stuff I can’t really get anywhere else. The problem is that store is about 30 minutes away from my weekly schedule. Another one of these stores I pass by 3 times a week, and they consistantly got nuttin’.
Then there is a random scattering of tool stores. If you like Japanese tools then these places might make you weak at the knees. The larger one in town usually has at least 10-15 full chisels sets on hand, as well as 100 or so planes and related items. When I need something, I go there and they got it almost every time. Sure, they treated me like a syphillitic leper when I first darkened their door, but after a few visits and a few yen with which I laced their palms, I am treated like a common leper now, which is how everyone gets treated, except the folks who are always buying stuff there. It’s normal, and they don’t think any less of me because I am not a local. They know that I know my stuff which makes a difference. I hope they won’t dissappoint tomorrow…
There is another small place I have been to a couple times that has very little on the shelf because they have very little shelves. But again, they would make a Japanese tool buff cry with what they do have.
But the story is of Nakai and that he might be going away.
I have not bought a lot of stuff from there, mainly because I never have enough money to buy anything, but it was darn handy to have a place to get little doodads I needed within walking distance of the workshop.
I hope they re-open, I really do…
Stu.
