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Planners and paper are my original love, because without them there is nothing to write on with my pens. 😉 Planner season is hot on our heels at the moment. Midori planners are announced, and Hobonichi is doing their August stadium previews with September 1 orders coming up. I have used a Hobonichi Original for the past 2 years, but as I have been loving my Travelers journal and it's weekly vertical insert, I want to change it up and get a weeks I can slip into my clear pocket when I want to carry everything. I miss the tomoe river paper when I am using it, but I am really reaching for it as a practicality. Let's talk about upcoming planners what everyone likes to use and wants to try! Post your favorite vendors to get planners. Share your bullet journal methods. Make sure our pens have plenty of work to do. Hobonichi previews thus far are all below in case anyone hasn't seen them yet ... 👀 I'm surprisingly really liking the gold fabric but we are yet to see what happens ...

I believe these are the last Hobonichi products to use the ‘old’ Tomoe River 52gsm paper produced on Tomoegawa's since-decommissioned ‘machine number 7’, as stocks of the paper are being run out: Compared to ordering direct from Hobonichi: and there is a maximum of ten units per product per order — which means, even with ten of the A5 and ten of the A6 Plain notebooks, the total order value of $300 would still fail to qualify for free shipping to Australia. Shipping charges are $42 for one book, $52 for ten A6 books, $58 for ten A5 books, and $66 for the two lots of ten books.

Contains info about tomoe paper processing. https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/magazine/contents/feature_tomoerivers/ysmpngg2y.html Plus interview of the Sanzen plant manager. https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/magazine/contents/feature_tomoerivers/yhk835vke.html Amongst many interesting things: the new paper has the same thickness as the original but weights 47gsm instead of 52 gsm. What a fascinating job they have. Lots of technical talk. I love it.

I am so late to this news.. but I just heard about the death of probably the best fountain pen paper ever made. Does anyone have a suggestion for a paper that shows the amount of shading, shimmer, and sheen as Tomoe? Also do you think there is a possibility of them being it back? I will soon post a link underneath this post for a poll that will sort of be a petition to bring back Tomoe River. I hope that if the manufacturers happen to see it (there is a probably low chance that they will see it, but it’s worth a shot) that they will fix the machines and maybe raise the price to compensate for the price of wood pulp and bring it back! Thank you, W. H. Major

The short version : Tomoe River paper will still be made but by another paper company.

I've found this paper called "Petals withered" that the seller claims is 52 gsm paper made by Tomoegawa intended for fountain pen writing, good for bringing out sheen and shimmer, etc. with many supporting pictures. In other words, per the listing online, it seems an awful lot like Tomoe River paper. Except for few things: "Petals withered" is the product name, not "Tomoe River", the packaging, including the cover sheet, has a very similar design but not the same, there is a lot of information on the actual Tomoe River cover sheet that does not appear on this one, the price is low - about $6.20 USD for 100 A4 sheets, shipped to me in Thailand, (but, then again, it's not a lot lower than the price in Japan), and the paper ships from China. While I think it is very likely that it isn't actually real Tomoegawa paper, curiosity won the day and I went ahead and ordered a pack. Does anyone have the real scoop on this paper? I'm supposed to receive it by May 17 and, when I do receive it, I will report back. (That said, Thailand has a temporary hold on international shipping as they are controlling a covid outbreak, so it may be longer than that.)

I filled out Tomoegawa's online inquiry form on the main company website yesterday, and haven't heard back... Maybe I am just being impatient, but has anyone here purchased a bulk order of Tomoe River FP paper directly from the manufacturer before? Is there a quicker way of contacting them about such things? Or perhaps a reseller in Japan who is known for selling bulk/wholesale orders? TIA for any suggestions!

UK GROUP BUY – TOMOE RIVER (TOMOEGAWA) A4 PAPER Good morning. I’m organising a group purchase of A4 sheets of Tomoe River paper from Japan. If you aren’t familiar with Tomoegawa, it is silky, smooth lightweight (52gsm) paper, perfect for use with fountain pens. Originally produced as a quality print paper, to reduce the weight of high page volume printed matter, it was discovered that this paper is also ideal for use with fountain pens. I have found that it takes practically every ink/pen combination I’ve used on it, without feathering or bleed-through. Because of its thinness this paper does exhibit some ghosting (show-through) with wet, dark inks. However, I successfully write on both sides of this paper and even use drawing pens and light applications of watercolours on it. For many, this is their ultimate letter and journal writing paper. For others’ opinions about this paper just search this site for reviews. Expressions of Interest This post is to gather expressions of interest from FPN members in the UK. I am also happy to include European members, subject to additional postage costs, via Royal Mail. The paper will be A4 size, colour white, in multiples of 100 sheets. (Note that Tomoe paper is off-white rather than the bright white of Clairefontaine or Oxford Optik). The final price will be dependent on import VAT and any other charges applied on entry to the UK, but my current provisional estimate is approx. £9 per 100 sheets, inclusive of postage within the UK via Royal Mail standard service. Prices for over 300 sheets may vary due to postal weight bandings. This price compares extremely well with the few UK retailers that sell this paper. Initially there will be 3,000 sheets available i.e. 30 ‘packs’ of 100. Dependent on the number of people interested in participating in this group buy, the total quantity available for each participant may need to be capped, to ensure fair access. If you are interested in participating please send me a PM, indicating the quantity you are interested in buying (in multiples of 100). You should contact me by no later than Friday 4th December. Please note that payment will be via PayPal and cleared payment will be required in advance of despatch of the paper to you. I will update this post with status of the group buy after the above cut-off date.