The Hobonichi Techo, explained: which size is actually yours
Original, Cousin, Weeks, or the English edition — every Hobonichi is different in ways the marketing never tells you. A field guide from the shelf where they actually live.
All guides
HomeJapan Stationery Awards 2026: winners and what they actually mean
The Stationery Awards are Japan's most-watched design prize for pens, paper, and planners. Here are this year's winners, translated — and which ones are worth importing.
Every 2026 Stationery Award winner actually worth importing
Most award winners stay in Japan. A handful are genuinely worth the shipping cost and the wait. Here is the shortlist I would actually order, with reasoning for each pick.
The 2026 awards controversy nobody in the West covered
Every year the Stationery Awards have one decision that Japanese forums fight about for weeks. This year's: the popular-vote winner lost the Grand Prize. Both sides, explained.
Jibun Techo vs. Hobonichi: the honest comparison
Kokuyo's Jibun Techo is the quiet favorite of working Japanese adults. Here is who each planner truly serves — and the honest answer to which one you should buy.
TRAVELER'S Notebook: the system, not the notebook
The cult-favorite Japanese notebook is really a modular system — refills, inserts, and a philosophy about travel. Here is how it works and how to start without the hype markup.
Itoya Ginza: a floor-by-floor field guide
Twelve floors of paper, pens, and quiet obsession. What to see, what to skip, and what to buy at Tokyo's most famous stationery store — written from regular visits.
LOFT's stationery floor is a trap. Shop it like a local
Everything at LOFT's stationery floor is beautiful, which is exactly the problem. A focused list of what is actually worth carrying home — and what to leave behind.
Pilot Capless: the pen Japanese offices quietly rely on
Retractable, unfussy, everywhere. Six months of daily use with the Pilot Capless — the fountain pen that Japanese offices quietly keep on every desk.
Kokuyo Campus: the notebook with the cult following
Japan's best-selling notebook is cheap, plain, and perfect. Six months of daily use — why the humble Kokuyo Campus outlasts notebooks that cost ten times as much.
Why Japanese paper people love Midori MD
The famously blank notebook that refuses to do anything but behave. A love letter to Midori MD's restraint — and who it is genuinely for.