Places to shop for pencils in Japan

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Hi Knockologists.

I’m heading to Japan later this year and I wondered if any of you had some good suggestions for stationery shops that you think I should check out? We’ll be visiting Tokyo and plan to head to Osaka/Kyoto/Nara and maybe Kobe and down to Hiroshima.

This is my list so far…

  • Loft. Kyoto and Shibuya.
  • Tokyu Hands, Shinjuku southern terrace
  • Sekaido. Shinjuku. East exit.
  • Ito-ya, Ginza
  • Bunbougu
  • Chikuho
  • Kiinokuniya, Shinjuku southern terrace
  • Don Quijote (Donkey). Shinjuku.

If you’ve visited somewhere yourself or have heard of somewhere you plan to visit, drop a reply here.

I’ll be sure to come back to this thread before and after and leave some tips that’ll hopefully assist your future travels too.

Thanks in advance.

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If you’re in Kobe, you should definitely consider 590&Co and Bundoki.

Re: Itoya, Ginza. Try to avoid weekend visits. The lift is small and dog slow. The pen floors are packed and no one is available to attend to you.

Re: Kinokuniya main store, Shinjuku. Very small selection, nothing ‘vaguely old’ to look forward to.

Outlier: Tsutaya Books main store in Daikanyama. Not so much for stationery but for the overall vibes. Serene, beautiful store in a quiet neighborhood. Great food in the vicinity, as well as small lifestyle boutiques.

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When in Kobe do not forget to visit Nagasawa PenStyle Den (NAGASAWA PenStyle DEN | ナガサワ文具センター). There were a limited selection of pencil-related stuff BUT for everything stationery related this shop is amazing.

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If you pass by Shizuoka area the Mr. Bungu store chains are quite nice for everything stationery.

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Thanks for the suggestions so far, peeps. Appreciate you taking the time to reply. Will work out how we put these on the itinerary.

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Note that bundoki does not have a physical shop.

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Indeed. If you have time to take the shinkansen to shin-kobe you’ll find the best shops in all of Japan, Nagasawa Kobe and 590&co :grin:

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Thanks to all who’ve left a reply.

Can’t wait to check some of these places out.

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Just went for a late evening wander to Donki close to my hotel in the Namba region of Osaka. Apart from a random assortment of junk, the pencils range was pretty limited.

I did find a cheapish Omega watch, just not in the market for that right now.

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Universal Studios today. Reasonable haul of various themed pencils. Gave me something to look for in the shops that all sell very similar things. Picked up a nice tin to store them in, too.

Probably head to Dotonbori tomorrow.

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A quick snap of yesterday’s haul

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Went to the Shinsaibushi Hands and Namba Parks Loft stores today. Quite a haul.

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Sorry for the bad pic

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Very nice

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Hope Japan is living upto the hype! So Jealous! Nice haul! Kitera white is :ok_hand:t4:

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So far, so good. Fantastic range for new/current pencils in the Osaka Hands and Loft stores so far.

Currently checking out shops to visit in Kyoto.

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Kyoto stationery shops visited:

  • Loft. Same as Osaka Loft range-wise.
  • Hands. Same as Osaka Hands ramge-wise.
  • Maruzen. This is a big bookstore but it had a wide range of MPs. Similar stuff to Loft and Hands.
  • Tsutaya. Can’t recall much of this one but I think it was a relatively small range.
  • Kyukodo (more fine paper and calligraphy than mechanical pencils). If you’re ever in Kyoto, check this place out.
  • Traveller’s Factory. This was more gadgets for travel. Not a pencil place at all.

The other place we all liked was the Nintendo Shop on the 7th floor of the Takashiyama Shopping Centre. If you like Nintendo, check it out.

It seems that Uni has released a very wide range of promo/branded Kuru-Togas, especially from Nintendo.

Heading to Tokyo next.

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Transited to Shinjuku yesterday. We checked out Sekaido and Kinokuniya. Sekaido was ok but MP range was a bit limited. Kinokuniya was just books, but there was a Cartoleria downstairs (B1F) that had some limited Staedtlers (the green is beautiful), a limited Smash and the Craft Design Technologies white Pentel Kerry.

Tokyo Disneyland today. The merch was a bit disappointing, specifically the MP range. I only picked up 3 (2 x Dr Grips and 1 x KT). Grabbed a nice tin box though.

I think I’m approaching saturation point with the available range and number of shops I’ve visited for MPs.

There are definitely some I’ve passed over, but I think I’ve got the ones I like.

The question now is whether I bring them home in their packaging, or strip the packaging to save weight and suitcase space. It’s not the worst problem to have.

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Did you do Itoya in Ginza? They also have a smaller outpost at one of the departmental stores in Shinjuku.

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No, not yet. We’re definitely going to Ginza some time in the next few days. We want to check out a couple of things there.

Itoya was on the list. I’ll make sure we drop in.

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Ginza Itoya ground floor… here we go

3F… pens and fountain pens!!! I’m glad this is not my thing.

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5F for MPs. Great range. Would have taken my money if I hadn’t already toured so many stationery shops.

We bought a few other items here. I loved the wall at the end of the colour level. Coloured pencils of every shade. My eyes lit up at the sheer variety. I also picked up a couple of desk cleaners - not sure if you guys have seen these little gadgets? They’re like little toy cars that sweep up shavings and rubber debris. I bought the original and the mk II.

Worth the visit for sure. We took our time and spent a few hours browsing… I didn’t keep track exactly.

Thanks for the rec, @drifand.

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