A Typical Workday at a Japanese Hardware Tool Store [video]

Man, I would love it if this kind of thing existed in the US. Unfortunately, shopping for used or refurbished products is increasingly seen less as something smart people do and more as something &quot;poor people&quot; do. I&#x27;ve heard more than one co-worker or family member refer to buying pre-owned goods as &quot;buying someone else&#x27;s problem.&quot;<p>The closest thing we have around here to a used tool store would be thrift shops that maybe have one broken drill, pawn shops with varying degrees of sketchiness, or rolling the dice on eBay.

The most interesting part of this video to me is when the repair guy with 20 years of experience says tool quality has improved over time.

Paolo has a bunch of cool vids on this topic, I&#x27;ve watched them all. I binged through them for hours when I first discovered the channel...my initial reaction was: Damn how long people in Japan work. Most people seemingly woke up, went to work, went out to eat and drink, and then get maybe a couple of hours at home before it all repeats.<p>But on the other side of the spectrum, you have: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;@salarymantokyo" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;@salarymantokyo</a>

Longtime Paolo fan, he does a great job with his &quot;typical workday&quot; series.<p>Not sure of the exact number he&#x27;s done, but I personally estimate I&#x27;ve watched at least 20-25 of these across a wide range of industries (majority are in food preparation&#x2F;service but he also covers construction, tech, animation, airlines, education, politics, and many more) and if there&#x27;s one overriding takeaway it&#x27;s the Japanese as a culture are extremely committed to maximizing product quality.<p>It could be selection bias (maybe he only films exemplary people) but it doesn&#x27;t seem to matter if you&#x27;re dealing with someone preparing food, fighting fires, or delivering packages these people seem to really care about the overall quality of the service or product they provide.<p>A few others worth watching:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=q0RX59G2jaA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=q0RX59G2jaA</a> (movers...as someone who only has experience with American movers this is ridiculously better than what I experienced)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=D8A_Hu_WqeQ" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=D8A_Hu_WqeQ</a> (package delivery worker)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=IsLFm5SSJyQ" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=IsLFm5SSJyQ</a> (politician)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=gjCzavpZoZI" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=gjCzavpZoZI</a> (fire fighter)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=UCPZzEbhNJw" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=UCPZzEbhNJw</a> (anime director)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=4m4UxbDgGhc" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=4m4UxbDgGhc</a> (car repair shop worker)<p>Honestly if you like any of these you&#x27;ll likely find they&#x27;re all worth watching.

Excellent example how population density can make even reuse&#x2F;second hand markets viable.

The kindest of interviewers.

You can see how those workers would have a good job satisfaction.

nice! Paolo is one of my favorites and this series he&#x27;s doing is genuinely interesting and documentary of life in japan. Brilliant series.

Nice. Thanks for sharing!

It seems that shops like this in Japan are only possible because of a government model that doesn&#x27;t interfere.