Hirakawa Inc. makes handmade Appleboxes and other fine grip equipment in Japan. There’s the  Hi-Hakko, a hi-hat applebox with built-in 150mm and 75mm or 150mm and 100mm tripod bowls.

My favorite is the multi-purpose Zabu-Hakko, an Applebox with 7 functions:

①. Seat cushion
②. Sliding accessory case
③. Pull-out coffee cup / orange juice / Vodka cup holder
④. Trash disposal hatch
⑤. Storage compartment
⑥. Kleenex dispenser
⑦. And, oh yes, an Apple Box.

At InterBEE 2018, Shinji Hirakawa explained that locations in Japan are often in very small apartments and houses. This makes small dollies, track and support equipment very important. Along with multi-purpose appleboxes, Shinji and his fellow grip-partners at Hirakawa Inc (Metal Toys)  supply Meister Track and Professor Track and many other time-saving grip products.

Contact: metal.toys (at) gmail.com