On January 22, Hands held a “Media Presentation for Hands’ 50th Anniversary” for the press at its Shibuya branch. At this presentation, Hands, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in August 2026, introduced its vision for the next 50 years, its newly created 50th anniversary logo, and various commemorative activities.
Mr. Masayuki Takaya, Chairman of the Board and Representative Director of Han’s, opened his speech by introducing the history of the company from the first store opened in Fujisawa (Kanagawa Prefecture) on August 28, 1976, as a new business venture of Tokyu Real Estate to the present day. He explained how the Fujisawa store was established as an effort to create a new lifestyle culture through hands.
Two years later, the Shibuya store, where this presentation was held, opened. The Shibuya store had 25,000 customers on the first day of its opening, and there is a record that the line of customers from Shibuya station was unceasing. Incidentally, the Shibuya store is the oldest of the 68 (including franchise stores and overseas stores) Hands stores currently in operation.
In October 1996, 20 years after its establishment, the Shinjuku store opened. The Shinjuku store opened in conjunction with the grand opening of the Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku, and on the first day, the number of customers reached 31,000, surpassing the number of customers in Shibuya.
In 2022, when it left the Tokyu Group to become the Cain’s Group, the new Han’s did not change the Han’s Green that had been so important to it up to that point, but renewed its name and logo, carefully preserving the “Restoration of Hands” that had been its motto since its founding. In this milestone year of the company’s 50th anniversary, the presentation was an opportunity for the company to widely communicate its unchanging corporate philosophy and concept in what form it will convey them to the future generation.
Following Mr. Takaya on stage was Hands President Satoru Sakurai. Mr. Sakurai presented the commemorative logo created for the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding. The commemorative logo, which expresses the brand’s message of “inheriting the past and connecting it to the next,” features both the current logo, which is based on the Chinese character for “hand” and is rising steadily, and an illustration of a hand from the logo used since the company’s founding.
The nostalgic hand illustration looks as if it is placing the number “5” or lifting it up, expressing both the past and the future of Hands. The commemorative logo will be used in various campaigns and events in the future.
The next topic was the “Life Editing Pictorial Book Project” currently being held at the Shibuya store. This was introduced by Yuji Kato, Deputy General Manager of the Product Management Department at Hands, who is in charge of this project.
Because the Shibuya store is located along a slope unsuitable for retail business, it is a skip-floor store consisting of three different floors (A, B, and C) with slightly different heights, for a total of 24 sales floors. The unique space created by this location is unique to the Shibuya store, and many people probably think of the Shibuya store when they think of Hands.
According to Mr. Kato, whose first assignment after joining the company was the Shibuya store, the word “typa” has become commonplace in the modern age, and shopping without fail is the norm, using a vast amount of data and word of mouth to arrive at one’s goal in the shortest possible time and with accuracy. However, he feels that there is a trend toward a return to analog shopping, where shoppers take the time to get lost, learn the story of the product, and enjoy shopping by learning the thoughts of the producers and sellers.
The sense of satisfaction of enjoying the futility of finding something, finding it yourself, and deciding for yourself is a value that only a real store can provide, and is the joy of the shopping experience. It is truly a world of illustrated books where one encounters something new with each turn of the page, becomes engrossed, and loses track of time. He explained the intent of the project as “the lifestyle editing illustrated book project” to experience the Shibuya store, which can be considered the starting point of Hands, as an illustrated book to visit. There are 408 stairs in total (with elevators, of course). He said he hopes visitors will enjoy the process of getting lost and finding their way through the unique skip floor.
As a symbolic effort to visualize the dungeon-like atmosphere unique to the Shibuya store, we commissioned Ayumi Shioya, a painter famous for his work on bathhouse illustrated books, to create a pictorial map. The map, which is more than just an isometric floor map, is displayed at the entrance on the first floor and on the walls of the staircases on each floor.
On the day of the presentation, a “Round and round tour of the Shibuya store” was held for members of the press. On the 1C floor, where bags and travel goods are sold, there is a “Travel Goods to Try All Over” corner, where visitors can try out and select from 80 types of travel pillows and other products.
The 40L suitcase “FLEX LIGHT 40L,” which is as thin as 11.5 cm when folded, is available for pre-sale only at the Hands Shibuya store. In addition to a wide selection of bags to help you choose the best bag for your trip, the store also carries a full lineup of convenient parts and repair parts for bags, such as detachable buckles, belt clips, and chest belts for rucksacks. The popular caster covers for suitcases are also available in a variety of colors, giving the impression of being very attentive to details.
On the floor, there is a space where you can walk around with your suitcase in tow, and a corner where you can actually try filling it up, making it a space where you can try it out to the fullest. As someone who always struggles with the weight of checked luggage when flying, I enjoyed discovering new products such as a luggage scale that weighs luggage but also measures its size with a built-in tape measure and does not require batteries because it generates electricity when the tape measure is pulled.
Incidentally, useful travel goods can be found in a wide variety of areas, including the stationery floor and the mobile-related goods floor. For example, there are 100 kinds of nail clippers in Health Care (3A). Rainwear and umbrellas can be found on the 1A floor. Enjoy the discovery.
You can also ask a staff member in the travel goods section for advice or to help you find the right floor, or if you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of merchandise, you can consult the “Buyer’s Recommendation” section.
Since its opening, the Shibuya store has stocked 1,000 types of light bulbs and 3,000 engraving knives, ranging from those for schoolchildren to those for professionals. The Shibuya store is a specialty store that offers everything from entry-level models to professional-grade products in a variety of genres, including 300 types of kitchen knives made by Seki, Tsubame-Sanjo, and Echizen cutlery.
On the other hand, “DESIGN UNDERGROUND SHIBUYA-BASE” (1B), with cassette tapes and boom boxes from the 1970s to the 1990s; “World of Soft Vinyl” (2A), with over 400 types of soft vinyl from various manufacturers including long-established toy makers Marusan and Blumaak; “SUISIKATSU (2B), which features a collaboration with Oshicoco, an online media company targeting girls, and the “Suishikatsu☆Paradise” (2B), where you can create your own original cheering fans.
In addition, the “HANDS Manhole Base Shibuya” corner, supervised by Hideto Yamada, the man behind the design manhole boom and the creator of manhole cards, will offer over 500 manhole-related goods.
Currently, “HANDS x NANICA ‘Tower of Emotion’ Riddle Solving Event” is being held (until March 31), a traveling event that takes place on the 24 floors of the Shibuya store, which is filled with a dungeon-like atmosphere and the fun of a tightly packed toy box.
Participation kits for this mystery-solving event using line and booklet can be purchased on the B2C floor (¥2,000 for the main story/¥1,500 for the outside story). In addition, as part of the 50th anniversary project, there are plans for limited-edition collaborative products between Hands and various companies, with more than 100 products in the works.
In addition, other appreciation campaign information will be posted on the Hands website and the Hands 50th anniversary website as it becomes available.
Just like an illustrated book where you enjoy discovering new things every time you turn the page, enjoy the futility of the process of finding something, and enjoy the analog touch of a shopping experience where you can feel the satisfaction of having found and decided on something yourself.
© Source travel watch