BOOK OFF

BOOK OFF Kameoka

This is my favourite shop in Japan. It's not because I like what they do there. I like it purely because of the name. BOOK OFF! Its a used book and CD exchange. We brought a truckload of old books from the house to this place and they took the lot and even gave us some money for them. Apparently they have a special machine which trims the edges of the pages on used books giving them that crisp new appearance. There are branches all over the place and they are wildly popular with teenaged manga geeks, who can be seen cluttering up the aisles while engrossed in their silly comics. In typically Japanese fashion, when you sell them some books you have to fill out a huge form with lots of personal details like your address, age and what you had for breakfast. (OK, I might have made that last one up but you get the idea) and then go away and wait for them to phone you so you can then go back to pick up your cash after you've signed and stamped a reciept. All that for a few old books. BOOK OFF also has a used computer business with a similar concept. It's called ...........HARD OFF. I did not make that up.