# HobbyLink Japan Scraper - Gunpla, Anime Figures & Model Kits (`lulzasaur/hlj-scraper`) Actor

Scrape HobbyLink Japan (hlj.com) product search. Get name, price (USD & JPY), maker/brand, category, availability (in stock / pre-order / order stop), release date, GTIN, image and URL for Gunpla, anime figures, scale models and Japanese hobby goods.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/hlj-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## HobbyLink Japan Scraper (hlj.com)

Scrape product listings from **HobbyLink Japan** — one of the largest online retailers of Gunpla, anime figures, scale model kits and Japanese hobby goods.

### What it does

Searches HLJ for your keywords and returns structured product data:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `name` | Product name |
| `maker` | Maker / brand (e.g. Bandai, Kotobukiya, Tamiya) |
| `category` | Product category (e.g. `Toys & Games > Building Toys`) |
| `priceUsd` / `sellPriceUsd` | Live price in USD |
| `priceJpy` | Price in JPY |
| `availability` | In Stock / Future Release / Order Stop / Back-Order |
| `stockStatusCode` | Raw status code |
| `isInStock`, `isOnSale`, `saleRate` | Stock & sale flags |
| `releaseDate` | Release month |
| `gtin13` | Barcode (GTIN-13) |
| `itemCode` | HLJ item code / SKU |
| `imageUrl` | Product image |
| `url` | Product page URL |

### Input

```json
{
  "searchQueries": ["gundam", "nendoroid", "RG"],
  "maxItems": 100,
  "scrapeDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}
```

- **searchQueries** — one or more search terms.
- **maxItems** — max products per query (24 per search page).
- **scrapeDetails** — fetch each product page for `maker`, `category` and `gtin13` (JSON-LD). Turn off for a faster run with just search + live price/availability.
- **proxyConfiguration** — HLJ serves plain HTML without a proxy from most egress; enable residential proxy only if you hit blocks.

### Output

Results are pushed to the default dataset — export as JSON, CSV or Excel. Live price and availability come from HLJ's own live-price endpoint; maker and category come from each product page's structured data.

### Notes

Prices default to USD (HLJ's default currency); JPY is always included. Data is read from HobbyLink Japan's public search and product pages.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

List of search terms to look up on HobbyLink Japan (e.g. 'gundam', 'nendoroid', 'RG', 'tamiya').

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of products to return per search query (24 products per search page).

## `scrapeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch each product page for maker/brand, category and GTIN (via JSON-LD). Slower but richer. If off, only search + live price/availability are returned.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. HLJ serves plain HTML without a proxy from most egress; enable residential if you hit blocks.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "gundam"
  ],
  "maxItems": 100,
  "scrapeDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "gundam"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/hlj-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": ["gundam"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/hlj-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "gundam"
  ]
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/hlj-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/hlj-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/0GdnEPlTHVhvYfeSE/builds/gcuLxxcO7KOPf0DFv/openapi.json