What Would You Buy In Tokyo And Osaka

[lawrenceg]

Hi,

 

On the 20th May 2016 I am lucky to be going to Tokyo and Osaka.

 

What would you contemplate buying that is interesting, different, you cannot buy elsewhere, (especially the United Kingdom) etc. and from where?

I am into Urban Sketching so also want to visit there art supply shops

 

It could be pens, strange nibs on pens, pencils, paper, inks, calligraphy (like), sharpeners or anything else pen, calligraphy or stationary related.

 

All suggestions no matter how wild and wacky will be very welcome

Edited May 8, 2016 by lawrenceg

[da vinci]

Enjoy your trip - I had a great time in Tokyo and Kyoto several years ago.

 

I still admire my special Kyoto Starbucks mug (Tokyo broke ).

 

Look forward to hearing about your trip.

[Mew]

Itoya, Maruzen.

 

Tokyo

Maruzen Nihombashi Branch: you can collect some sailor inks, and see whether they have some limited edition leftover pens from Maruzen pen fair. beni-urushi custom 845 is very nice. They have some sailor pen too.

 

Kingdom Note: some exclusive sailor inks.

 

Shousaikan: they had some exclusive sailor inks, but not sure of their current availability.

 

Tokyo Pen Shop Quill: they have an exclusive pilot custom 845 in vermillion color and 2 exclusive nibs for 845 and 823, FA and WA.

 

You can also place your order of eboya pens in Tokyo if you like.

 

Osaka:

Hankyu Hanshin Departmental Store had a limited edition ink, you can see if it is still available.

 

Style-Dee: 2 sailor exclusive inks. umeda night blue and Doujima gold.

 

Also, Rakuten vendor of 4000 sheets Tomoe river paper is located here, you can contact him if you want to buy.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Mew

[stan]

Stay away from pens.

Enjoy your time more wisely.

 

Japan is a fascinating place.

Take in history and culture.

In Tokyo, go to Shinjuku, Roppongi, and Shibuya.

Find the large Don Quixote store.

Buy a decent cooking knife in Tsukiji.

Your wife or mother will appreciate.

Go to the Imperial Palace

Asakusa District and Sensoji Temple.

Ueno Park and nearby museums.

 

In Osaka, visit Osaka Castle and get a really good feel for the history and scale of the project.

For shopping go to Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi.

Get any tourist guide.

 

If you really really must look at pens go to Maruzen or Itoya in Tokyo.

Don't spend too much time there as your time in Tokyo is precious and there is much more.

[Algester]

depends on what kind of shopping experience your after...

me honestly I'd go to Akiba in Tokyo... :3, Shinsaibashi in Osaka is nice but mmmm time is limited

Tokyo Disney Sea is fine too

I too would like to get a Japanese style knife but I'm left handed so... I'm not sure how expensive that would get

Edited May 9, 2016 by Algester

[pkoko]

Pilot Custom 845... Just check it out and get your check book ready.

[fabri00]

Visit Morita pen shop in Osaka: good prices and the special edition in nice blue turquoise from Sailor.

Bring cash because it do not accept credit card.

 

From Osaka you can move to Kobe and visit den pen shop, with a huge assortment of Kobe Inks (sailor).

[dapprman]

Akiba (Akihabara) -- Gamers - Otaku goodness

 

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j413/dapprman/Tokyo%202008/DSC_0318_zpsc63eb08d.jpg

 

And not far away there's Kanda-jin - nothing that special about this temple except they will bless laptops and other business paraphenalia

 

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j413/dapprman/Tokyo%202008/DSC_0372_zps28f53b37.jpg

 

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j413/dapprman/Tokyo%202008/DSC_0382_zpsfdb1ee31.jpg

Edited May 9, 2016 by dapprman

[domzals1]

  On 5/9/2016 at 12:33 AM, Algester said:

depends on what kind of shopping experience your after...

me honestly I'd go to Akiba in Tokyo... :3, Shinsaibashi in Osaka is nice but mmmm time is limited

Tokyo Disney Sea is fine too

I too would like to get a Japanese style knife but I'm left handed so... I'm not sure how expensive that would get

 

+1 on DisneySea. It's unlike any other amusement park I've ever been to, and your typical Disney themes are near next to impossible to find. I had a fantastic time.

[ClockOnHR]

Sailor, Platinum, and Pilot pens are cheaper than any other places, if you find discount stores with 20% off price. (called MORITA SHOP in Osaka)

Kingdom note and Euro Box in Tokyo also has great used pen selections. Loft, Itoya and Tokyuhands (lost the spelling) are not fountain pen shops, but they are absolutely stationary heaven in Japan.

[agchristie]

Does Itoya have any special editions at the moment? A friend is going to Tokyo next week and she is going to Itoya as she wants to get into FPs a bit. I was wondering if there is anything special that she could get? Do they still have the Sailor Realo in Rhodium trim in Demo versions and how much would they go for (that one would be for me!!)? Also do they have any regular Pro Gear/Sapporo in other colours than are regularly available? Do they have any store specific inks?

Thanks

[agchristie]

Also if she goes to Maruzen instead (for Sailor LE inks!) do they have the standard line of Pilots like the Fermo, Prera and Regno 89?

[katanankes]

  On 5/8/2016 at 11:10 PM, stan said:

Stay away from pens.

Enjoy your time more wisely.

 

Japan is a fascinating place.

Take in history and culture.

In Tokyo, go to Shinjuku, Roppongi, and Shibuya.

Find the large Don Quixote store.

Buy a decent cooking knife in Tsukiji.

Your wife or mother will appreciate.

Go to the Imperial Palace

Asakusa District and Sensoji Temple.

Ueno Park and nearby museums.

 

In Osaka, visit Osaka Castle and get a really good feel for the history and scale of the project.

For shopping go to Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi.

Get any tourist guide.

 

If you really really must look at pens go to Maruzen or Itoya in Tokyo.

Don't spend too much time there as your time in Tokyo is precious and there is much more.

 

I know this comment comes from a great contributor of this forum and it is written with good intentions, but I find it a bit patronizing... maybe the OP has already seen all of that! We do not know. And if he or she wants just to do pen shopping, it is his/her choice. I have been in Japan twice over the past two years and I was able to do both, extensive pen shopping and time to appreciate the cultural beauties of the country. The two activities are not really mutually exclusive in my humble opinion.

[Algester]

  On 5/11/2016 at 7:48 AM, agchristie said:

Does Itoya have any special editions at the moment? A friend is going to Tokyo next week and she is going to Itoya as she wants to get into FPs a bit. I was wondering if there is anything special that she could get? Do they still have the Sailor Realo in Rhodium trim in Demo versions and how much would they go for (that one would be for me!!)? Also do they have any regular Pro Gear/Sapporo in other colours than are regularly available? Do they have any store specific inks?

Thanks

itoya doesnt have specific store inks, however they do host Sailor ink ateliers from time to time so check Sailor's events website

next the special edition realos your asking was only available long time ago and its not from Itoya its from Hougado total to 100 pieces for both rhodium and gold trim

drop by KN if they have second hand it should set you back the same price as a realo about 30K yen

[jchch1950]

Morita pen shop . You will enjoy it even if you don't speak Japanese . Friendly owner and a lot of knowledge. He sells Salors pens made only for him.

[lawrenceg]

Dear all,

 

Thank you for all of your suggestions and ideas, i will let you know how i go on

[Tinjapan]

Both Itoya and Maruzen have special editions of pens. Seems that Itoya may have more store exclusive pens, though I am not sure of that.

 

Be prepared to be disappointed as far as inks go. Everywhere has a decent to great selection of ink, but the store exclusives have been picked cleaned, at least they still were last week.

 

Shousaikan is a great store. They MAY have their inks yet available as they are way away from all other pen related stores.

 

KN had just five of their 20 inks last Wednesday. 3 browns, a gray and a black.

 

Sekaido, near KN and their much larger store on the other side of Shinjuku have Japanese pens at a 20% discount. Their selection is not great but the discount applies to any domestic (only?) pens in the catalog, if you are in tien long enough.

 

Yodabashi Camera is all over Shinjuku. There store right across from KN sells watches but up on the 3rd floor, I think, they also have pens.

 

However, if bargins are what you are after and you care not for the wonderful atmosphere of KN or Shousaikan, go to Ameyoko in Ueno. Be prepared to ask for better prices. They can give better prices for cash than they can for credit, however.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I don't know what I'd buy. I'd just like to go. Flying is out of the question; that's just too far for my back to handle. However, if I did manage to go, I'd likely buy pens, paper and ink.

[tartuffo]

I would buy a ticket to Tottori and go visit Hakase.

[stan]

  On 5/13/2016 at 3:36 PM, katanankes said:

 

I know this comment comes from a great contributor of this forum and it is written with good intentions, but I find it a bit patronizing... maybe the OP has already seen all of that! We do not know. And if he or she wants just to do pen shopping, it is his/her choice. I have been in Japan twice over the past two years and I was able to do both, extensive pen shopping and time to appreciate the cultural beauties of the country. The two activities are not really mutually exclusive in my humble opinion.

There is bias in my suggestion as vintage pens are more my interest. There are vintage pens to be found in antique shops and flea markets. Rarely have we invested the time and energy. Much ahd to do with schedule. Once, we found a large quantity of older Platinum ephemera. Usually, a few 1950s Pilots. One of my friends in Tokyo has great connections with flea market sellers and always has a few pens to share with me.

 

We visit Japan every year and always find new and interesting things to do. Two times we combined pen hunting with tourism. Before leaving America, we created our itinerary based on visiting places that had out of the way pen shops. If you hunt hard you can find two great shops in Kyoto, and others in Wakayama, Nagano, Kanazawa, Sendai, Aomori, and Gifu. My best source was a small shop in Kochi.

 

Much depends on your focus. Only one time did I find something sooooo special in Tokyo that I had to buy it. Rarely have new pens sparked my interest.

 

Patronizing. Hmmm! If the latest greatest obscure color Pilot 747 or super-duper nibbed Sailor 9000 makes your day, go for it. If you can save $35-$40, great. For ink, I have never seen anything so special or unique in using funny colors or squid ink. Pens are writing instruments - utilitarian objects. There are some that have collector value and appreciate over time. Many makie, for example, fall into that category.

 

Ten years from now 90% of those participating in this group will no longer have any or have interest in fountain pens. That is a fact. Wherever we go, we try to not take our hobbies or baggage with us. Work is difficult to leave behind. It may seem we can go anywhere and visit any pen shop we like in Japan. Not the case. We wish to thoroughly use the limited time available to enjoy ourselves..