Best Places To Buy Fountain Pens In Tokyo

[Patrick L]

I will happily be travelling for the first time to Japan(Tokyo) soon and would like to take this opportunity to admire and buy Japanese fountain pens. Could you please suggest some good Tokyo shops ? Thanks a lot.

 

Patrick

[da vinci]

There have been a few threads on this Patrick, not sure if the search function is working or not.

 

When i was there, i went to Itoya in Ginza. It was a pen paradise!

[Patrick L]

There have been a few threads on this Patrick, not sure if the search function is working or not.

 

When i was there, i went to Itoya in Ginza. It was a pen paradise!

Thanks a lot for your reply !

[mchenart]

Pentrace East has a comprehensive listing of the very best Tokyo pen shops here:

 

http://www.pentrace.net/east/

 

Just click on the first entry. One thing about the Itoya store that you should know, and that is their main store is undergoing renovation now, so they moved all the fountain pens to the first and second floors of a new building in the back. That six-storeyed building is the best looking stationery store that I have seen in the entire world. The second floor is devoted to mainly maki-e pens that I can only drool at. A total out-of-the-world experience.

 

Have fun there.

[AlejoPlay]

I didn't buy any pens there but I got lots of ink and paper.

 

For the record, I didn't care for Itoya. Their store was split into two smaller stores (due to renovation) and I found the layout challenging from a shopping standpoint. I much preferred Maruzen's stationery department. Nice layout. Nice selection of paper and they even had some of the lower end pens like the Clear Candy by Sailor. Itoya DID have the Pilot Preras with calligraphy nibs which I've never seen anywhere else.

 

I highly recommend getting Iroshizuku ink and Apica CD Premium Notebooks or L!FE Noble Notes or Tsubame notebooks while you're there. The markup in the states is enormous and they're great notebooks and ink.

[Patrick L]

Thanks a lot to everyone !

[notVirtuThe3rd]

Itoya is the best of all fountain pen shops, I think.

 

 

If you drop in at Aoyama, you should visit Shosai-kan.

 

I bet you'd like these two shops!

Edited May 6, 2013 by VirtuThe3rd

[Ashram]

Itoya probably has the greatest selection and most impressive pen assortment in Tokyo and is certainly worth a visit. If what you are looking for is part of the regular lineup from Sailor or Pilot I would not miss Sekaido near Shinjuku Station. They do 20% off retail which when I went included both pens and ink. You should also consider ordering pens/ink from amazon japan and having it delivered to your hotel. Have a great trip!

[tenney]

Ashram, have you found amazon.jp to be less expensive than those shops that sell 20-30% off list price?

[mori45]

+1 on Sekaido. You may also want to check out Euro-box. Mr. Fujii does carry Japanese pens and may have some vintage ones you won't find elsewhere.

[Patrick L]

Thanks once more to all of you for your great replies. Now, are these shops closed on Sundays or do they open every day ?

 

All the best

 

Patrick

[RLD]

For finer fountain pens, I have to agree that Itoya in the Ginza is outstanding. Easy to find also and open on Sunday.

 

If you visit Itoya, don't miss the Pilot Pen Station which is not far away. It's a great museum (no pens for sale).

[Ashram]

Ashram, have you found amazon.jp to be less expensive than those shops that sell 20-30% off list price?

 

For ink, discount stationary stores like Sekaido are probably the best bet with the lowest prices in Japan. I have found some very good deals on pens at amazon.co.jp however so both are worth a look. If you have the time I would visit the brick and mortar stores first then check online. Another store you could order from with good prices while you are in Japan is Morita Pen Shop in Osaka. They do 20% off many pens and as of 6 months ago offered free shipping for orders over 10,000 yen.

[AlejoPlay]

Sekaido was great, but be forewarned they may not have everything. I couldn't get Tsuki-Yo or a Midori Traveler's Notebook there. They were out of stock.

[SJX]

I just posted this in another thread, but here it is again. As already mentioned, Itoya is a great place. Not the cheapest but wide selection and impeccable service. The Ginza main store is being renovated so the high-end pen department is now round the back (and stationery is in another building). I also like Maruzen bookstores, which are all around Tokyo. The biggest is Maruzen in Nihonbashi I believe.

 

- SJX

[bizhe]

Does anyone know if there are any shops in Saitama?

[zerobuttons]

Thanks once more to all of you for your great replies. Now, are these shops closed on Sundays or do they open every day ?

 

All the best

 

Patrick

You can count on the larger stores, like Ito-Ya, to be open all days. The smaller shops, run by individuals, will sometimes have rather strange schemes for opening hours. In some cases because the shop owner needs time without shop customers, to work on pen repair or adjusting.

[James-B]

On 5/7/2013 at 10:00 AM, Ashram said:

 

For ink, discount stationary stores like Sekaido are probably the best bet with the lowest prices in Japan. I have found some very good deals on pens at amazon.co.jp however so both are worth a look. If you have the time I would visit the brick and mortar stores first then check online. Another store you could order from with good prices while you are in Japan is Morita Pen Shop in Osaka. They do 20% off many pens and as of 6 months ago offered free shipping for orders over 10,000 yen.

Thank you so much. I was being jerked around on ebay and japanese details that would take my money and then say they can't send the pen for 60 days. I used the japanese Amazon and the price was great and shipping is only 7 days. Thanks so much 

[gyasko]

On 5/14/2013 at 8:59 PM, bizhe said:

Does anyone know if there are any shops in Saitama?

 

Not anything major.  There may be fountain pens and inks to be had in various bookstores, department stores and stationers, but nothing like at Maruzen in Nihonbashi or the specialty shops in Tokyo.  

[stan]

A number of department stor4s have been known to have LEs of Japanese pens. For sure - Takashimaya, Isetan, Daimaru. You never know unless you visit. Takes a lot of time.

 

If travelling to Japan at some time in the future. No idea when. Spend most of you time doing touristy stuff. One day for pens at most and visit other shops in the stores or on the street as you hunt.

 

Several years ago my wife and I toured half of Honshu visiting cities that had pen shops and had worthwhile tourist places. Had much more fun. Got to go to Wajima for the first time. Visited about seven or eight cities in two weeks or so.

 

Most do not have that luxury. Just target two or three places and hope the pen gods look favorably on you. And, don't forget about Yahoo Japan. Some great opportunities there.