Tomoe River Journals And More

[amberleadavis]

Woo HOO

[elderberry]

Woo hoo indeed!

 

I still haven't tried the springback but I'm looking forward to it.

 

Which brings me to another question, I have considered ordering TR in Japan myself using Tenso as a forwarding agent but the shipping and handling costs seem to be outrageous! I'd like to use fast shipping to keep the handling and banging around to a minimum but my quote seems to be like: 72 USD for the paper, 200 USD+ for the shipping! How did you work this out?

[amberleadavis]

I ordered 4000 sheets, and had it shipped via slow boat from Japan.

[thecla]

I ordered 4000 sheets, and had it shipped via slow boat from Japan.

 

And you were happy how it turned out?

Did your paper arrive in good condition?

 

I've been thinking about ordering Tomoe River from Japan but I'm a little bit worried about it getting banged up on the way (I would think a heavy package like that gets crumpled corners pretty easily) and moisture causing buckling or waviness if using the surface shipping option.

 

I'd be very interested to hear experiences from anyone who has used surface mail for their Tomoe River order.

[GatzBcn]

Woo hoo indeed!

 

I still haven't tried the springback but I'm looking forward to it.

 

Which brings me to another question, I have considered ordering TR in Japan myself using Tenso as a forwarding agent but the shipping and handling costs seem to be outrageous! I'd like to use fast shipping to keep the handling and banging around to a minimum but my quote seems to be like: 72 USD for the paper, 200 USD+ for the shipping! How did you work this out?

 

Yes, the forwarding agent thing is weird... I registered with Goyokiya and everything and turns out I didn't even use it... I don't know. I just know it was complicated, fortunately the shop contacted me and we ended up solving everything by email.

And, unfortunately, I think there is not an alternative but to pay. I did pay about $200 for shipping by air, but the shop gave me the option of shipping by sea, which was much much cheaper, but it took waaaaay longer. Everywhere I've seen folks who purchased from Japan, they said the shipping costs were higher than the paper costs.

Also, you need to add taxes. I guess we would pay similar, as we are in the EU. I paid almost 50€ of customs.

 

I ordered 4000 sheets, and had it shipped via slow boat from Japan.

I had them shipped by air because they said 2 weeks (even if it finally took two months), but my idea is to order some more very soon and ship it by ship, which they said 4 months, so I am counting 6 haha. I'd really appreciate if you let me know how long it has taken by ship since you ordered until it arrived, so I can get an idea for the future, when it arrives, of course.

 

And you were happy how it turned out?

Did your paper arrive in good condition?

 

I've been thinking about ordering Tomoe River from Japan but I'm a little bit worried about it getting banged up on the way (I would think a heavy package like that gets crumpled corners pretty easily) and moisture causing buckling or waviness if using the surface shipping option.

 

I'd be very interested to hear experiences from anyone who has used surface mail for their Tomoe River order.

I got mine by air, and the box has some scratches, but nothing that damages the content, which is packaged in bubbles and very protected. No crumpling in my case, but I also worry about moisture if I shipped by sea.

[amberleadavis]

Mine arrived in great shape and I had enough paper to survive the wait.

[thecla]

Thank you for the answers GatzBcn and amberleadavis.

I'm again one step closer to making my own order.

 

There is one thing I've been wondering.

 

I take it that on the Rakuten page the part where it says "The eyes of the paper" means direction of paper grain?

Which option is grain short?

 

I'm almost sure it's the "Sideways (y)" option ( 横目（y） in Japanese) and "Longitudinal eyes (t)" would be grain long but could either of you confirm that?

 

I plan to use the paper for binding my own notebooks so getting the grain direction right is important.

[GatzBcn]

Mine arrived in great shape and I had enough paper to survive the wait.

 

 

And how long did it take to arrive, Amber?

 

Thank you for the answers GatzBcn and amberleadavis.

I'm again one step closer to making my own order.

 

There is one thing I've been wondering.

 

I take it that on the Rakuten page the part where it says "The eyes of the paper" means direction of paper grain?

Which option is grain short?

 

I'm almost sure it's the "Sideways (y)" option ( 横目（y） in Japanese) and "Longitudinal eyes (t)" would be grain long but could either of you confirm that?

 

I plan to use the paper for binding my own notebooks so getting the grain direction right is important.

I actually had trouble with that too. Fortunately, I have a friend who studied Japanese and I asked her. I also think they refer to the grain direction. Since I assume you will be folding the sheets, you will need the same paper I asked ...*checking past emails*... Which is sideways (y). So, you are correct ^_^.

 

I found the process to be quite confusing, with many emails only in Japanese, so if you need any help, feel free to ask. It will be worth it, you'll see!!

[amberleadavis]

I think it was 3 months.

[GatzBcn]

I think it was 3 months.

Thank you very much for the information!! It's good to know .

[elderberry]

Thank you, that was most illuminating! I think I'll just grasp the nettle then and pay up for the express mail (3 days it says on the site, ha! We will see.) Maybe I will even order 8000 sheets like you did, that should be within the weight limit of 30 kg, right? Or did you have it shipped in separate packages, GatzBcn?

 

Also good to know I was guessing correctly about the "eyes" of the paper.

[GatzBcn]

Thank you, that was most illuminating! I think I'll just grasp the nettle then and pay up for the express mail (3 days it says on the site, ha! We will see.) Maybe I will even order 8000 sheets like you did, that should be within the weight limit of 30 kg, right? Or did you have it shipped in separate packages, GatzBcn?

 

Also good to know I was guessing correctly about the "eyes" of the paper.

I didn't see that express mail you say, where I purchased it said the shop would contact you regarding the shipping, as it did happen. There they offered me the air and the sea option. It may take 3 days to arrive to Germany... But who knows how many to pass customs hehe.

I honestly have no idea how heavy it was. I don't think it was 30 kg, but I honestly don't know. I didn't give them instructions, but they just shipped it altogether.

[thecla]

Thank you, that was most illuminating! I think I'll just grasp the nettle then and pay up for the express mail (3 days it says on the site, ha! We will see.) Maybe I will even order 8000 sheets like you did, that should be within the weight limit of 30 kg, right? Or did you have it shipped in separate packages, GatzBcn?

 

Also good to know I was guessing correctly about the "eyes" of the paper.

 

8000 sheets of Tomoe River in A4 size weighs about 26 kg.

(8000 * 1/16 * 52 g = 26 000 g)

That's just the paper so it leaves a maximum 4 kg for the packing materials.

 

If you get 8000 sheets of Novi A4 size (219 x 310 mm) it will weigh about 28,25 kg.

(8000 * 0,219 * 0,31 * 52 g = 28 242 g)

There's a pretty big risk that with the packing materials it would be over 30 kg.

Edited April 13, 2016 by thecla

[amberleadavis]

Mine came packed with paper filling. The outer box was damaged, but the papers were not. I'd suggest buying the largest amount possible and using slow boat. The box appears to have been tossed around less than the heavy boxes that were shipped air.

[GatzBcn]

8000 sheets of Tomoe River in A4 size weighs about 26 kg.

(8000 * 1/16 * 52 g = 26 000 g)

That's just the paper so it leaves a maximum 4 kg for the packing materials.

 

If you get 8000 sheets of Novi A4 size (219 x 310 mm) it will weigh about 28,25 kg.

(8000 * 0,219 * 0,31 * 52 g = 28 242 g)

There's a pretty big risk that with the packing materials it would be over 30 kg.

 

I just checked and my 8000 sheets A4 size weight 28 kg (or at least, it says so on the box).

 

Mine came packed with paper filling. The outer box was damaged, but the papers were not. I'd suggest buying the largest amount possible and using slow boat. The box appears to have been tossed around less than the heavy boxes that were shipped air.

Yes, that is probably what I will do next time. Thanks for the information, Amber!

[Cryptos]

I ordered 4000 sheets, and had it shipped via slow boat from Japan.

 

Could you elaborate a little on how this was done, who you bought from, and the cost and method of shipping please? PM if you don't wish to say openly.

[elderberry]

I've ordered 4000 sheets a few days ago, they should arrive with the freight forwarder shortly. I'll pick EMS shipping (3 days estimate) for 27.000 yen.

 

The buyer did e-mail me back quickly with his own quote for shipping but I chose to use Tenso for this time as I don't want to wait months for the paper to arrive. Maybe I'll make another order soon and choose his slow boat shipping method, it was 9.500 yen for 4000 sheets, about 3 months delivery time.

[amberleadavis]

Who did you use?

[GatzBcn]

Could you elaborate a little on how this was done, who you bought from, and the cost and method of shipping please? PM if you don't wish to say openly.

 

In my case, I purchased from http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/auc-shikisai/item/50602/

After my order was placed, I received an email from them asking me whether I wanted air shipping (28000 yens) or sea shipping (15000 yens) for my order of 8000 sheets (shipping to Spain). I replied air shipping and they asked for my credit card number, I think. I gave it to them, they charged the amount and proceed to ship my paper! From the day of the initial purchase until the day they shipped, only a couple of days passed.

They said by air it was only 2 weeks and by sea 3 months. Truth is it was 2 weeks by air... Plus 6 weeks in customs, so a total of 2 months. But that probably has to do more with each country.

Good luck!

 

 

I've ordered 4000 sheets a few days ago, they should arrive with the freight forwarder shortly. I'll pick EMS shipping (3 days estimate) for 27.000 yen.

 

The buyer did e-mail me back quickly with his own quote for shipping but I chose to use Tenso for this time as I don't want to wait months for the paper to arrive. Maybe I'll make another order soon and choose his slow boat shipping method, it was 9.500 yen for 4000 sheets, about 3 months delivery time.

That is very interesting, as now I know the price difference for shipping 4000 vs 8000 sheets. For 8000 sheets, by sea it was 15000 yen, so that is very interesting. I will probably get 8000 by slow boat next time. Hopefully soon, as I already count 3 ship months + 1 customs month (at least).

[GatzBcn]

Who did you use?

I had made an account in Goyokiya, but turns out I never used it! I just went with the shop options, who knows what they used.