HADANO Internet Projects

What HADANO Internet Projects does

HADANO Internet Projects (合資会社秦野インターネットプロジェクツ) is a privately held Japanese limited partnership established in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture in October 2001, with individual business operations dating to January 2000. The company operates HiP-Sound, a small physical retail store combined with e-commerce storefronts (hip-sound.com, mao-sound.com, and the Yaeyama Sanshin-Do smartphone-oriented sanshin site) focused on the buying, selling, and repair of new and used musical instruments, alongside in-house music lessons. It claims Japan's largest inventory of used shamisen (as of 2008) and sells its own proprietary 'mao' brand of instruments and accessories, whose logo is a registered Japanese trademark (number 6176885, 2019).

The business model is direct-to-consumer and essentially artisanal: one-time retail and resale margin on instruments, professional service fees for repairs and music instruction, and modest online sales through proprietary and Yahoo! Shopping channels. Customer segments are individual musicians, hobbyists, and local residents; prior segments (seniors via the discontinued HiP-SeniorPC, learners via the closed HiP-S computer school) have been wound down. The company's technology stack is non-proprietary and relies on third-party hosting and basic e-commerce functionality; there is no AI/ML, no SaaS offering, and no API. Marketing is largely organic via local chamber-of-commerce membership and word-of-mouth rather than digital campaigns.

Financially, the company is opaque: it is privately held, discloses no revenue, has no external funding rounds, and operates with 1-10 employees. Recent activity (2025 addition of self-produced audio content to a hobby page, 2021 store renewal) indicates ongoing but small-scale operation rather than growth investment. The company represents a niche, founder-operated local retail and e-commerce micro-business with limited recurring revenue, no institutional capital, and no current expansion signals beyond its existing Kanagawa footprint.

Name

HADANO Internet Projects

Legal name

合資会社秦野インターネットプロジェクツ

Website

https://hip-s.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HADANO Internet Projects is a small Japanese limited partnership operating the HiP-Sound retail store and e-commerce sites in Hadano, Kanagawa, buying, selling, and repairing used musical instruments and offering music lessons to local musicians and hobbyists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Musical Instrument Retail

NAICS

Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (459140), Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (45914), Used Merchandise Retailers (459510), Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers (4591)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Musical Instrument Retail (Guitars, Keyboards, Drums, Band/Orchestra) (CRALAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instrument Repair, Maintenance & Luthier Services (CRALAEAF), Used & Vintage Musical Instruments Retail (CRALAEAH), Instrument & Pro Audio Retail (Online/Brick-and-Mortar) (MPAIAJAH)

Keywords

• Musical instrument retail
• Used instrument sales
• Musical instrument repair
• Music lesson services
• Original brand instruments

Headquarters

HQ city

Hadano

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Musical Instrument Sales: Sale of new and used musical instruments including guitars, shamisen (three-stringed instrument), speakers and audio equipment. The company operates HiP-Sound as their primary retail brand.
2. Used Instrument Purchases: Purchase and resale of used musical instruments, with the company having achieved status as Japan's largest retailer of used shamisen (中古大正琴) in 2008.
3. Musical Instrument Repair: Repair services for musical instruments as part of their core business operations.
4. Music Instruction: Music lessons taught at the HiP-Sound shop location combining instrument retail with educational services.
5. Creative Product Development: Development and sale of original brand products, including the 'mao' brand for musical instruments and accessories.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

HADANO Internet Projects purchases, sells, and repairs musical instruments through its HiP-Sound brand, operating both a physical store in Hadano City and multiple e-commerce websites. The company also offers music instruction at the HiP-Sound shop and sells instruments under its own registered 'mao' brand, including traditional Japanese instruments such as shamisen and taishōgoto.

Product overview

HADANO Internet Projects operates a portfolio of internet-based businesses centered on musical instruments and community content. The primary commercial offering is HiP-Sound, a used musical instrument buyback and sales operation with a physical store (opened 2004) and e-commerce site (launched 2003), selling the company's own 'mao' branded instruments alongside other used instruments and offering music lessons. Secondary offerings include HiP-SeniorPC, a discontinued line of senior-friendly customized computers; and an array of hobby/cultural web properties (fairy tale summaries, photography, music) hosted under the hip-s.net domain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• mao: Original brand for musical instruments; trademark registered in 2019 (registration number 6176885); website mao-sound.com launched in 2018
• HiP-Sound
• 中古スピーカー堂
• 八重山三線堂

Products and services

• HiP-Sound (Used Musical Instrument Retail and Buyback) Buyback and resale of used musical instruments (including guitars, shamisen, taishōgoto, sanshin, speakers) through a physical store in Hadano and online storefront (hip-sound.com). The company claims Japan's largest inventory of used taishōgoto (中古大正琴保有数日本一) as of 2008. Targeted at individual musicians and hobbyists in Japan.
• mao (Original Brand Musical Instruments) Original 'mao' branded musical instruments and accessories developed and sold by HADANO Internet Projects, with the logo registered as Japanese trademark No. 6176885 (2019-09-06). Sold via own e-commerce site and Yahoo Shopping. Targeted at instrument buyers seeking the company's original brand products.
• Music Lessons / Instruction Music instruction taught at the HiP-Sound shop location, combining instrument retail with educational services. Targeted at individual learners and musicians in the Hadano area.
• Musical Instrument Repair Services Repair services for musical instruments provided as part of the company's core HiP-Sound operations. Targeted at individual musicians and instrument owners needing maintenance and repair.
• Yacyama Sanshin-dō (Smartphone Sanshin Sales Site) Specialized e-commerce storefront selling sanshin (Okinawan three-stringed traditional instrument) optimized for smartphone users. Targeted at sanshin players and Okinawan traditional music enthusiasts.
• Chūko Speaker-dō (Used Speaker Sales Site) Online storefront for used speaker and audio equipment sales operated as part of the company's musical instrument/audio equipment portfolio. Targeted at audio enthusiasts and musicians.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ishibashi Music (石橋楽器): Major Japanese musical instrument retailer operating both physical stores (notably in Ochanomizu) and e-commerce, with deep new- and used-instrument assortments and in-house repair. The Ochanomizu flagship's used-instrument culture directly parallels HiP-Sound's positioning.
• Shimamura Music (島村楽器): Japan's largest music retail chain combining instrument sales, music schools, and repairs across roughly 170 stores. Closely mirrors HADANO's integrated retail-plus-lessons model at national scale, making it the most direct comparable for the in-person experience layer.
• Sound House (サウンドハウス): Japan-focused online musical instrument and pro-audio retailer with fast-moving inventory and aggressive pricing. Represents the e-commerce-native competitor against which HADANO's smaller online storefronts (hip-sound.com, mao-sound.com) compete for digital buyers.
• Clover Gakki (クローバー楽器): Used-instrument specialist in Japan with multiple storefronts focused on buying and reselling second-hand guitars, basses, and related gear. Highly comparable on the used-instrument buyback/sales model that anchors HiP-Sound's claim to category leadership.
• Kurosawa Gakki (クロサワ楽器): Specialty Japanese music retailer historically strong in guitars and band instruments, with significant used-inventory operations and repair services. Comparable to HADANO in the combination of curation, used trade-ins, and brand-driven identity.

Others

• Hard Off Corporation (ハードオフ): Japan-wide reuse retail chain that buys and sells secondhand musical instruments alongside other categories. Functions as a mass-market alternative for used-instrument transactions, pressuring specialist buyers' willingness-to-pay on appraisal-driven items.

Broad incumbents

• Yamaha Corporation: Major Japanese musical instrument manufacturer and retailer with showrooms, music schools, and pro-audio divisions. A broad incumbent whose retail and lesson operations define the upper bound of what integrated Japanese music commerce can look like.

Emerging players

• Chuko Gakki (中古楽器ドットコム): Online used-instrument marketplace in Japan aggregating listings from shops and individuals. Comparable to HADANO's online used-instrument channel as a low-overhead competitor that reaches buyers beyond any single local market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hadanohipsound

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HADANO Internet Projects