Stationery Adventures In Tokyo And Sendai

[Intensity]

Just back from a 2-week-long trip to Tokyo and Sendai--first time in Japan.

 

First of all, this was an overall amazing experience, and I loved every minute of it. Can't wait to go back, hopefully not too far in the future.

 

But since this is a site for writing stuffs, I'll talk about my adventures going to stationery shops in Sendai and Tokyo. I apologize for the long-winded ramblings--first day after returning, so head is fuzzy from the travel and the time difference.

 

Sendai:

 

I found a small stationery store near Tohoku University campus, but based on Google reviews, it has been closed for some time due to its owner being ill. There's a person I could see inside, but they are not reacting to passersby, and the shop is locked. So the best bet is a great store called Office Vender. It is right in the center of the city, steps from the Sendai Train Station, on the 4th floor of AER building. Excellent one-stop-shop for everything but rare pens. They even had some L.E. Sailor pens there. There is a great selection of paper, including loose leaf. No Tomoe River (on this later), but instead they do carry all the usual great papers and Nakabayashi Logical, which was my favorite of the lot--could not find Nakabayashi Logical anywhere else. They have a full line-up of Sailor Ink Studio, Iroshizuku inks, all of Platinum inks, some other inks I can't recall now, and a Sailor exclusive gray ink "仙台七夕の夜 Sendai Tanabata no Yoru (The night on Sendai during Tanabata)". (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/272272-sailors-full-ink-lines-including-shop-exclusives-compiled-in-a-post/?p=3126324)

 

I did not get the gray ink, as it was rather expensive, and I had other gray inks already owned or on my list.

 

(Also, to continue with the pricing, Platinum Pigment inks are 1500 yen, Taccia inks are 1000 yen, Sailor Kobe at Itoya is 1800 yen (all +tax, or without 8% tax if you're buying 5000 yen+ worth of merchandise and hold a foreign passport). Sailor Ink Studio are 1200 yen + tax. Various special collaboration inks like Sailor x Kingdom Note are 2000yen per bottle or higher. Jaques Herbin inks are very expensive! 3300 yen or so for the shimmering inks and 3000 yen for the 50ml France-exclusive new inks such as Bleu Austral and Gris de Houle, 1000 yen for packs of Herbin cartridges of the same.

 

Sailor Shikori 20ml botles cost around 1000 yen + tax in Japan, Iroshizuku inks are 1500 + tax for regular and 1600 + tax for the new 100th anniversary inks. Divide these numbers roughly by 100 and you get an approximate USD value. ~$16 for anniversary edition inks is pretty great vs. USA prices. Unfortunately despite seeing the 100th Anniversary Inks at almost every stationery store I've visited, I simply did not like any of them. On the contrary, I love almost every ink from the standard Iroshizuku line-up.)

 

For mechanical pencil lovers -- Uni Kurutoga pencils are made in various limited edition prints, and no store seems to have the same varieties. Literally every store I've visited out of many (across Tokyo and Sendai) had different print options. So I held out only for the ones I liked the most. The 0.3mm size is the most difficult one to find in special print variety vs. standard solid color, but I finally managed on my last day in Tokyo at Tokyu Hands (0.3mm in blue with lavender-pink accents).

 

Tokyo:

 

Unsurprisingly, this city has loads of stationery shops, such as branches of Itoya (the largest being Itoya Ginza and its accompanying "daugher" shop across a small road), Maruzen book store stationery departments, tiny Kingdom Note, Bungubox, Pen and Message, Tokyu Hands stationery department, etc.

 

Things common to many larger stores: ink displays with filled tester pens for Pilot Iroshizuku inks, tester pens for Sailor Ink Studio. Many stores have at least premade stacks of written samples for every ink they sell that you can browse through, but those are of very limited usefulness. For example at Kingdom Note, there's a large line-up of custom inks, and they are only shown on pre-made ink cards. The paper has a matte texture, and the inks are just matte looking with no character in the line squiggles. So one can't tell if there's sheen or color shift, or other interesting properties. Given the high prices of some special inks, I basically skipped them, especially because there were so many other inks I was so happy with already (and that were more affordable for inkaholics )

 

Also common to many stores are pen nib tester stations. For instance I spent a while in Sendai Office Vender just testing all the Platinum 3777 and Pilot nib widths. They also had a tester display for Sailor nibs. Such displays can also be found at other shops in Tokyo.

 

 

 

 

(For reference, Platinum writes finer for each nib width of equal designation vs. Pilot)

 

Most useful all-in-one stop shops in Tokyo, in my opinion (where you can get a good selection of all sorts of stationery, including washi paper, cute stickers and stamps, pencils, paints, and of course fountain pen stuff): Tokyu Hands--for example in Ginza or Machida, followed by Itoya, followed by Maruzen stationery departments. Kingdom Note and such are small and specialized toward fountain pen stuff with limited selections.

 

Did not get any Kobe inks at Itoya--was planning on getting Ginza Gold Sepia, but they are out of this color until the next batch in August. Did get a bunch of Sailor Ink Studio and some Iroshizuku.

 

There is a too-cute Line Friends shop in Shibuya, but I did not see any Lamy Safari sets, beyond one on display on a higher floor with some things missing. Nothing that I had found to buy.

 

Maruzen's stationery departments have a decent selection of paper but mostly notebooks and planners. They also carry Pilot Iroshizuku and standard (as do most other stores), Sailor Ink Studio's 100-ink line up, Sailor Shikori, some other brands, and their own house brand of Athena inks. I got the older vintage bottle Sailor-made Athena Blue-Black and Athena Sepia (maker unknown).

 

Itoya has some interesting and unusual small ink lines (like a Blue Jeans series by a brand I'm not sure of, as well as some exclusive colors, but I couldn't pick just by looking at premade writing on paper--same problem as at Kingdom Note: such samples don't really give any idea of the ink's performance beyond its flat base color).

 

Random thoughts on inks: I had pretty much discovered how awesome Pilot Iroshizuku inks are when I finally saw all of them in person at once, available to test. Some shops had freshly-filled pens where the ink concentration was equal to usual bottle concentration, and some had their pens sitting for days, so the ink could come out very saturated and highly sheening. Iroshizuku Tsutsuji pink ends up with a LOT of golden sheen when concentrated. I loved most of the Iroshizuku inks in saturated form, so my plan is to let mine sit in a pen before using or do a round of evaporation on bottles with a sterile mesh on top to protect against dust. I was so excited about Iroshizuku inks and some Sailor Ink Studio colors that everything else that was more expensive just seemed unnecessary, unless it was going to be extra unusual. Sailor ink studio inks are really nice too, especially those of very complex multi-hue compositions, such as the now-famous 123 and 162. 150 is very similar to Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu and also my Kobe #51 Hime Ajisai, otherwise I was going to get one. Ink Studio #573 is just gorgeous--faded red-orange-brown with dark outlining and very nice shading.

 

 

Tomoe River: this was a surprise. I had expected this paper to be available at more shops, but in fact it was very difficult to find. Most places had either none at all or some journals or notebooks made with the paper--no loose leaf. Kingdom Note had literally 4 sets: 2 in A5 size and 2 in B5 size. I got their last 2 B5 size sets. Itoya Ginza had literally one set of loose leaf Tomoe River and only in A5 size, which I ended up buying. They also had one top glue-bound notepad left in A5. I don't know what's up with that--is TR's increased popularity in Europe and USA shifting its stock toward export? Maybe it's not very popular in Japan? There are plenty of other brands available everywhere, such as Maruman Mnemosyne, Kokyo, Life, Midori, etc. But if you're going to Japan hoping to stock up on Tomoe River, it might be difficult or impossible to find in stores in loose leaf. The dot-grid Tomoe River notebooks are very underwhelming: A5 size and with clunky large blue-color dots, somewhat fuzzy printing quality.

 

Some of my total haul, paper not shown:

 

Sailor Ink Studio: 123, 162, 237, 573, 941, 970

Pilot Iroshizuku: Kiri-Same, Ku-Jaku, Yama-Budo, Tsutsuji (almost got Tsukushi, Murasaki Shikibu, and Ajisai but decided to wait)

Maruzen Athena Blue-Black and Sepia

Uni Kurutoga pencils in 0.3 and 0.5 sizes (and a Pilot mechanical pencil); Uni Nano Dia pencil leads: 0.3mm in 2B and 0.5mm in 4B.

Lots of packs of perforated loose leaf paper in B5 size by Nakabayashi Logical and Maruman, a couple of B5 spiral binder folders.

Tomoe River white and cream in B5 and A4, a bunch of notebooks and to-do pads. Stamps, stickers.

 

 

Unfortunately I did not see any L.E. Sailor pens I wanted. Actually it's fortunate, since it saved me some money. There was an amazing Pilot (I think) pen at one of the Maruzens, which was a kind of purple-maroon Vanishing Point raden combination, but too much out of my budget, so I just sighed at it for a while and moved on.

. . . . . .

 

Random ink scribbles--I have more, but this gives an idea of in-store testing ability

 

 

Itoya L.E. Kobe #71 and #72 were super pale!

 

Edited June 16, 2019 by Intensity

[jacksterp]

Enjoyed your travel synopsis.

 

Thanks for taking the time!

[ethernautrix]

So jealous!

 

The last time I was in Japan was 2001. I must have been in Maruzen with my mother and brother where I spent I don't know how long to decide which nib I wanted on the Sailor 1911 -- ended up with H-EF, a fabulous nib. The experience was notable for the infinite patience my family had for my decision.

 

Whenever I think about another visit to Japan, my mind starts to explode over the possibilities. There are just so many cute things -- and stationery things! -- there. I heard that there are 7,000 stationery stores in Tokyo. *Brain explodes*

 

Not to mention the tiny dive yakitori and noodles shops. So much love for those, too.

[Intensity]

Yes, too many amazing stationery options indeed! I was marveling at everything and thinking how great it would be to have access to such stores any time.

 

H-EF is what I got recently for my first Sailor, and I love it as well. It’s as good as its reputation lead me to expect. Platinum UEF I’ve tested during my trip was entirely usable as well, needlepoint fine and not scratchy, so I plan on getting one of those some day too. But I prefer Sailor otherwise, aesthetically, and my Sailor nib feels very luxurious and precise to write with. Budgeting for another Sailor pen first.

[Maurizio]

Thanks for this detailed report and photos and giving me an opportunity to enjoy - vicariously - a visit to the Japan stationary world. I especially enjoyed hearing about the nib width testing stations. Very cool!

Hoping to visit someday with my teenaged son.

Edited June 19, 2019 by Maurizio

[TheDutchGuy]

Good read! Thanks!

[mongrelnomad]

Next time you're in Tokyo, try Kakimori/Ink Stand, as their paper selection is excellent, and they allow you to mix your own inks...

[Chaos-incarnate]

I believe the blue jeans ink series you mention is made by Taccia- I tried the whole range at a pen show when I was in Japan earlier this year. Several of the range were quite attractive but I didn't buy any- I don't really use much plain blue ink.

[Intensity]

I believe the blue jeans ink series you mention is made by Taccia- I tried the whole range at a pen show when I was in Japan earlier this year. Several of the range were quite attractive but I didn't buy any- I don't really use much plain blue ink.

 

Ah Taccia, that's cool. I would like to get some Taccia's standard colors, but they are the same price in Japan and USA ($12), unlike something like Iroshizuku inks ($15 for standard colors and only $16 for 100-year anniversary edition). I think there were 4 or 5 Blue Jean ink colors, different hues of blue-indigo. There were 1-2 more special edition ink sets at Itoya that I also passed on--no testers, only pre-made paper swabs, and high prices.

 

Something else I noticed about most larger stationery stores I visited: most had Graf von Faber Castell inks and Lamy inks. I saw "Jacques Herbin"'s French Essentielles line at Itoya, both bottles and cartridges, with colors like Bleu Austral, but the cartridges were $10 a pack and ink bottles were $30-and a bit per bottle. I mostly ignored everything of non-Japanese origin, but found those Jacques Herbin inks interesting since they are not sold in USA. Unfortunately no testers, just the same sort of premade sample cards with ink lines, not even splashes.

 

Itoya had Kobe #72 and #71 LE pale baby blue and pale pink inks. Those were inked in a couple of pens to write with, so I've tried them. Very pale, barely legible. Probably good for drawing and accenting on the margins, not so much for writing.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Intensity

[Chaos-incarnate]

Yes, I have a test page somewhere of all the blues I think but I'm not sure it would show the differences that well online. They were all nice tbh, I don't think you could go wrong with any. I was very tempted even though I wouldn't use it much (after a lifetime of blue and black ballpoints I'm loving the colours!).

 

I did get the 100yr anniversary set because they were much cheaper than here in Aus and the Itoya Ginza Sepia you mentioned earlier, because exclusive ;-) it's not a very nice sepia though, if I could have tested I wouldn't have got it. Itoya was pretty full when I went, and I did not get offered service on the fountain pen floor at all. It was probably the worst service in all of Japan I saw, so I ended up leaving after maybe 20 mins of waiting and didn't get to try anything. Some of the other floors were good though.

 

I was kind of overwhelmed by the other ink choices in the places I went, in particular the Kobe's and Sailor ink studio. I didn't make a list before I went because I didn't want to fly ink back really, but I wish I had got a couple.

Thanks for your feedback :-)

[Intensity]

Oh yes, the Ginza Gold Sepia is not really sepia in the traditional sepia color sense, but it's definitely my kind of hue, so I would have liked it. Next time!

 

Iroshizuku 100-anniversary at $16 per 50ml bottle were very tempting, but only because of the price. Since they were available at most stationery stores I had visited at that price, I got many chances to reconsider my opinion. I really just did not care for any of the ink colors. Even Hoteison that I expected I was going to get from seeing review photographs ended up being a disappointment when I saw it in person: not saturated enough, not blue enough or not olive enough, just a bunch of "not quite what I'd like, if only it were more in one way or another". I thought it was going to be a deeper more saturated off-black, less J. Herbin Vert Empire mixed with black ink that it appeared in person. I liked the standard line Murasaki-Shikibu more than the L.E. Juro-Jin. And the rest of the 100th anniversary inks were completely not my cup of tea.

[Algester]

personally I actually enjoyed using Edo-Murasaki when Ito-ya got it re-issued from Pilot