Despite not hitting up any fabric stores during my trip to Tokyo I did manage to visit Itoya*, a lovely stationery store. Looking back, I am bit confused why Itoya was so high up on my list of 'must-see' while fabric stores were so low on my list. I have no explanation for it.
When I was planning my trip, my mom kept telling me to visit Ginza, especially on a Sunday for the crowds, and my Dad chimed in that his favorite pen store is in Ginza. I don't think my dad and I have ever officially discussed our love of pens, but as I reflect back on my life I now see we have a similar interest in writing instruments.
Itoya is located very close to the main hot spots in Ginza (here's a link to Google Maps) so it wasn't like we had to go out of our way. My husband wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to visit a stationery store. I'm sure he asked more than once whether I could get the same things back home. I dunno, husband. Do you know of a 5 storied stationery store?????
Ohhh yeah, Itoya is 5 floors of stationery heaven. My dad completely failed to mention this fact, so I was in for a wonderful surprise. Now, one floor is dedicated to wedding stuff (invitations, favors), but the other 4 floors were awesome!
My favorite floor was the one with all the pens. Now sure, you can buy pens at any ol' store and there are specialty stationery stores scattered around LA, but Itoya had a huge selection of pens (ballpoint, jelly, roller, brush, fancy, tiny ones, big ones, fountain pens, etc.). While I do buy a variety of pens from JetPens.com every now and then (and I saw those pens at Itoya), I can't sample them before I buy them, which is key to ensure I'll actually like them! I don't know about you, but writing with a good pen can definitely make my day. Below are some photos of everything I purchased.
I only bought 1 mechanical pencil, 3 pens, and 2 brush pens, but only because I didn't really want to spend my whole paycheck on a bucket full of pens. One of the pens that I bought (which isn't shown in the above photo because I took it to work) is a gel pen, but is completely erasable (here's a link to it on JetPens). It's the BEST erasable pen I've ever used.
I was also enamored by all the kawaii stickers and accessories. I also got some silly stuff too, like the metal penholder with a cat on it. I'm still a little confused on how to use it, but who the eff cares, it's adorable! I think you're supposed to clip it onto a notebook so you have an instant penholder.
The large black cats in the first swag photo are wall stickers, which my husband was *this* close to nixing. He said the stickers "did not go with our home decor". My husband finally agreed that I could get one for my sewing room that was representative of our cat so I picked the one with the cat spritely walking from the light switch. My cat has a tendency to open doors and bust on in as if to say, "what up bitches!", so that one reminded me of him. The one with two cats is actually for my brother and SIL because they have two cats.
If I hadn't already pre-ordered the Get to Work Book, I would have bought a planner. I assume you could have even made your own customized one because there were all sorts of refills available. Even in the digital age and my desire to have less and less stuff, I still love a good planner with actual pages that I can write in and clearly flip through. In anticipation of getting the Get to WorkBook, I purchased those tiny stickers.
I definitely showed some self-restraint while browsing through Itoya. One of the floors had pen pouches, bags, and portfolios, all of which were so tempting...and expensive. Gahhhh, it was all so wonderful.
*I went to the website while writing this post and discovered Itoya is opening a store in June with 12 floors!!! TWELVE!!! I HAVE TO GO BACK!
When I was planning my trip, my mom kept telling me to visit Ginza, especially on a Sunday for the crowds, and my Dad chimed in that his favorite pen store is in Ginza. I don't think my dad and I have ever officially discussed our love of pens, but as I reflect back on my life I now see we have a similar interest in writing instruments.
Itoya is located very close to the main hot spots in Ginza (here's a link to Google Maps) so it wasn't like we had to go out of our way. My husband wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to visit a stationery store. I'm sure he asked more than once whether I could get the same things back home. I dunno, husband. Do you know of a 5 storied stationery store?????
Ohhh yeah, Itoya is 5 floors of stationery heaven. My dad completely failed to mention this fact, so I was in for a wonderful surprise. Now, one floor is dedicated to wedding stuff (invitations, favors), but the other 4 floors were awesome!
My favorite floor was the one with all the pens. Now sure, you can buy pens at any ol' store and there are specialty stationery stores scattered around LA, but Itoya had a huge selection of pens (ballpoint, jelly, roller, brush, fancy, tiny ones, big ones, fountain pens, etc.). While I do buy a variety of pens from JetPens.com every now and then (and I saw those pens at Itoya), I can't sample them before I buy them, which is key to ensure I'll actually like them! I don't know about you, but writing with a good pen can definitely make my day. Below are some photos of everything I purchased.
I only bought 1 mechanical pencil, 3 pens, and 2 brush pens, but only because I didn't really want to spend my whole paycheck on a bucket full of pens. One of the pens that I bought (which isn't shown in the above photo because I took it to work) is a gel pen, but is completely erasable (here's a link to it on JetPens). It's the BEST erasable pen I've ever used.
I was also enamored by all the kawaii stickers and accessories. I also got some silly stuff too, like the metal penholder with a cat on it. I'm still a little confused on how to use it, but who the eff cares, it's adorable! I think you're supposed to clip it onto a notebook so you have an instant penholder.
The large black cats in the first swag photo are wall stickers, which my husband was *this* close to nixing. He said the stickers "did not go with our home decor". My husband finally agreed that I could get one for my sewing room that was representative of our cat so I picked the one with the cat spritely walking from the light switch. My cat has a tendency to open doors and bust on in as if to say, "what up bitches!", so that one reminded me of him. The one with two cats is actually for my brother and SIL because they have two cats.
If I hadn't already pre-ordered the Get to Work Book, I would have bought a planner. I assume you could have even made your own customized one because there were all sorts of refills available. Even in the digital age and my desire to have less and less stuff, I still love a good planner with actual pages that I can write in and clearly flip through. In anticipation of getting the Get to WorkBook, I purchased those tiny stickers.
I definitely showed some self-restraint while browsing through Itoya. One of the floors had pen pouches, bags, and portfolios, all of which were so tempting...and expensive. Gahhhh, it was all so wonderful.
*I went to the website while writing this post and discovered Itoya is opening a store in June with 12 floors!!! TWELVE!!! I HAVE TO GO BACK!
That cat stuff is cooool!
ReplyDeleteI know!! So much awesome cat stuff in Japan! :))))
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