Japan's Paper Culture

I should really buy something from jet pens. Not sure how how expensive they are for non-US international orders but I’ll have to check. It could potentially add quite a mark-up to a cheaper item such as the sampler packs someone else mentioned. But those packs look GREAT.<p>You should check out the rest of their posts&#x2F;articles. I’ve ended up on them before when trying to find out the difference in the types of inks and types of pens. I have always been really impressed by the quality of their articles. Really want to give them some cash so will wander over there in a bit.<p>Sadly, my writing has got worse and worse since my life has become more and more digital. I should really have a goal for 2022 to be able to write legibly once again. I can’t even read my own hand writing any more - it must just be the lack of practice and it’s very sad as people used to comment on how beautiful it was (decades ago). Now it looks like a Doctor’s prescription order!

I have no affiliation with jetpens - but if you are into pens at all, buy one of their sampler packs.<p>It&#x27;s a great way to try out different styles of pens that you won&#x27;t find at Staples or Walgreens (or the office supply closet).

For a slightly contrarian opinion: I just use printer-paper (for a <i>laser</i> printer). It works fine with ballpoint or fountain pens (some notebook papers <i>don’t</i> work well with fountain pens and people think they need special expensive paper). Obviously it doesn’t come in a neat book. I just used plastic document sleeves for the first level of organisation (one could then view more than two pages at once too) and box files for the second, though it wasn’t very necessary. I don’t have much to write and record these days.<p>I currently use paper for free-form drawings or diagrams for work as photographing a paper drawing is the most efficient process I currently have for getting such diagrams into emails&#x2F;our wiki.

I always loved the look of notebooks in pen and paper ads. Neat text here, nice drawing there… however, does anybody actually take notes like this? My notes always look like trash, and back in school it was the same for everyone.<p>It almost looks like if you want to take notes this way you have to plan ahead to be sure to have space?

For a peek behind the scenes at JetPens (with a slightly algorithmic bent): <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;1Bi2Xys-ces" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;1Bi2Xys-ces</a><p>Disclaimer: I work there.

If you go to Japan, check out a place called Tokyu Hands.. tons of paper notebooks, pens, pencils, pencil organizer pouches, tons of awesome stuff..

It&#x27;s fun, until you live there, and find yourself forever filling out tens of useless forms and workout that pretty much everything requires a form, whether or not it makes sense.<p>Don&#x27;t get me wrong, I think the art work, Kanji and calligraphy is awesome, there are many amazing things about the &#x27;paper culture&#x27; but, there are many drawbacks, especially in 2021 when the rest of the world has gone digital in so many areas.

Pens aren&#x27;t my thing, but I am impressed with the quality of the article considering its part of a commercial website. Compared to the low quality content marketing most companies put out this was a breath of fresh air.

JetPens is by far the most useful web site for learning about Japanese stationery. I especially appreciate the customer reviews, where you sometimes get more critical analysis than you would see in the official description.<p>It&#x27;s worth also checking other sellers like www.tokyopenshop.com and jstationery.com, especially for older products or things that JetPens has run out of.<p>Shipping out of the USA can be pretty expensive. For larger and more popular items, there are sellers operating from Japan that sell through Amazon and manage to keep shipping charges more modest.

Midori MD Notebook - A6 Grid Paper, Pilot FriXion Ball Slim Biz Gel Pen - 0.38 mm, and sticky notes helped me organize my life the last two years.<p>I never knew an eraseable pen could be so good. Midori paper is on another level.<p>I love jetpens. I&#x27;m trying out the Hobonichi Techo Weeks as a 2022 journal for more structure. But I&#x27;ll always have a Midori MD for free flowing thoughts or sketches.<p>They even have an interesting video on how they organize and pack orders. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;1Bi2Xys-ces" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;1Bi2Xys-ces</a>

I often want to reteach myself handwriting to be able to write like this. Has anyone here had success in doing this? How did you go about it?

I have been using Midori MD notebooks for quite some time, I really like their format and paper. I recently purchased a pack containing a Kunisawa notebook, it&#x27;s so nice and well made that I&#x27;m sad to start writing in it, I&#x27;m waiting to start a project or idea for something interesting enough to release it. That said I also think that there are many things coming from Japan that are incredibly overpriced just for the fact of coming from there, like stationery and clothes, the prices they reach when they arrive in Europe are sometimes even in bad taste, especially if you compare them with many local products that are equal or better and worth 1&#x2F;3 of the price.

The first on the list, the Kokuyo Campus notebook, is a favorite in Japanese schools everywhere, IF ONLY because it has the words “CAMPUS” emblazoned across the cover.<p>That being said, it’s a really good notebook.

Relevant 99pi: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;99percentinvisible.org&#x2F;episode&#x2F;hanko&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;99percentinvisible.org&#x2F;episode&#x2F;hanko&#x2F;</a>

Reading this makes me yearn for paper&#x2F;fountain again! But I think the convenience of Rocketbook scanning plus reusability has me hooked. At least for now.<p>I recently found myself wanting to source some Japanese notebooks en-masse, as I prefer handwritten notes for meetings and general &quot;thinking&quot; work. I continually run out of notebooks at the worst possible times.<p>Instead, I ended up buying a Rocketbook. I thought I&#x27;d try it out, it wasn&#x27;t a huge outlay (compared to, for example, ReMarkable). I&#x27;ve gone through the notebook quite a few times now, works quite well.<p>Rocketbooks definitely aren&#x27;t perfect. The tactility is nowhere near that of fountain&#x2F;paper. You must use Pilot Frixion pens. And you can only buy frixion pen inks in their insanely small and wasteful plastic cartridges (you cannot just buy a bottle of the ink, as far as I&#x27;m aware). I do sometimes wonder if it is better to fill up my recycle bin with paper, or fill up my garbage can with frixion cartridges.<p>But, I&#x27;m still not sure I&#x27;ll go back to standard pen and paper any time soon for my daily notetaking.<p>Slightly off-topic but I&#x27;d be curious if any of you are Rocketbook &quot;expats&quot; or converts.<p>Edit: spelling, plus further thought on wastefulness.

They also manufacture some great fountain pens. I recently got a Pilot Capless (Vanishing Point) and really like it after writing on Lamy pens for years.

I have an itoya oasis notebook that I adore. Paper feels lux and has the right amount of tooth and it magically lays flat despite having a cloth binding. Got it at that Japanese paper&#x2F;pen shop on Santana Row in san jose.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;itoya.com&#x2F;products&#x2F;notebooks-journals&#x2F;profolio-oasis-notebook&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;itoya.com&#x2F;products&#x2F;notebooks-journals&#x2F;profolio-oasis...</a><p>also have a kyokuto side-bound wire notebook that has held up like a champ. The wire doesn&#x27;t get mangled from jamming it into my backpack like some POS mead notebook would. Got it at the japanese paper store in japantown sf <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;kencrooker.com&#x2F;review-kyokuto&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;kencrooker.com&#x2F;review-kyokuto&#x2F;</a><p>Still I think from now on I&#x27;m going to stick with the magic lay-flat cloth bound.<p>one curious statement from the article:<p>&gt; Despite Japan’s international reputation for using futuristic technology...<p>maybe in the 1980s? As late as a few years ago, it was rare for a hotel in japan to have wifi. They&#x27;re lagging in tech now in several industries.

99percentinvisible did a podcast on the culture of hanko and how it changed during the pandemic. It is pretty interesting. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;99percentinvisible.org&#x2F;episode&#x2F;hanko&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;99percentinvisible.org&#x2F;episode&#x2F;hanko&#x2F;</a>

Stationary from Japan is really something else. Notebooks, pens, scissors, etc... They feel great, look great. Even the cheap stuff you get from convenience stores is nice.<p>Many innovative pens and art supply you can find in the west came from Japan too.

Paper is made from (once) living organisms.<p>It should be treated as such and not taken for granted.

For anyone who prefers mechanical pencils over pens (like myself), I have been extremely happy with the pairing of a Zebra M-701 and Uni Nano Dia HB 0.7mm on Leuchtturm1917 or Moleskine paper.

I&#x27;ve been ordering from Jet Pens for about a decade now.<p>Best selection of Japanese fountain pens, fantastic notebooks, always a great experience.<p>Solid article, and glad to see them on the front page of HN.

&gt; YAMAMOTO PAPER told us that they believe paper selection will be more limited in the near future as manufacturing becomes more streamlined and people move to digital tools. Their hope is that people will get to know Japanese paper culture as it is now before it permanently changes.<p>Do Japanese paper companies make much use of recycled paper?

Tangentially related, with pandemic WFH, have we finally achieved the &quot;paperless office&quot;?

I understand the feeling of nostalgia in this thread, but for the actual handwriting and its flexibility I would highly recommend a ePaper tablet like remarkable.

Does anyone have experience with alcohol based markers? Which paper would you recommend for such markers?

This article discusses an interesting topic and is written in an engaging style. Nice find!

Growing up, I had a friend with a Japanese parent. She had supernaturally neat handwriting, produced with various impossibly cute and meticulous-looking Japanese pens and stationary over the years. I felt like some kind of clumsy, nasty barbarian in comparison.<p>Japan is, of course, just <i>a place.</i> The people there are ordinary humans. Fetishizing a particular culture is both cringeworthy and genuinely harmful. Their country and society have plenty of problems, just like any other. There is nothing magical about Japan or any other place.<p>However. If all that remains of their civilization in 10,000 years is a curiously well-preserved Japanese stationary store, perhaps buried Pompei-style and frozen in time... future historians may conclude otherwise.