The write stuff

Hanna Kite takes notes at Tokyo's finest pen and paper boutiques.

Besides runny noses, fall weather also carries with it a more contemplative mood. It's the season that our inner writer leads us to the window-side desk with a cup of tea and pen and paper. Kawaii Japanese letter sets are a dime a dozen, but when you're jotting in a journal, composing a long letter, or giving the gift of words this autumn, the corner stationery store and ¥100 yen shop just won't do. Listen carefully and let the delicate scratching of a fountain pen on handmade paper lead you to these five stationery boutiques in Ginza and Aoyama.

Pen Boutique Shosaikan Aoyama
Shosaikan (pictured above) is one of those stores that reminds foreigners and internationally minded Japanese why they're living in Tokyo. The harmony of its architecture, lighting and displays creates a breathtaking backdrop for a distinctive collection of 25,000 antique stationery products, including blotters and inkwells dating from the 1890s to the 1920s. Shosaikan's well-trained staff can help customers find a fountain pen that suits them, whether it's a Parker and Waterman for those who press very firmly as they write or, for lefties, an Omas or Pelican pen with a softer, thinner nib. Like the best specialty stores, Shosaikan is a tad hard to find: If you're walking from Omotesando station towards Shibuya on Aoyama Dori, turn left at Max Mara and walk three blocks until you see the Nikka Whiskey sign. The side street leading to Shosaikan is directly across the street.

Panse Bldg 1F, 5-13-11 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-3400-3377. Open daily 11am-8pm. www.shosaikan.co.jp

On Sundays

Downstairs from the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art near Gaienmae station is On Sundays, one of Tokyo's best museum shops and one that stands alone as a premier stationery store stocking uniquely arty items. In addition to handmade greeting cards (some decorated with beads, eggshells, and kiri-e), 31 types of marbled paper, letter sets, and designer-quality portfolio files, On Sundays's most impressive selection is its art and photography postcards-over 10,000 types, organized alphabetically by artist. On Sundays has for the past 13 years commissioned local designers to create original day-planner covers; 2004's selection is already on sale. Other unique gifts stored in On Sundays's ceiling-high wooden cabinets and shelves include seal, gorilla, and goat facemasks, confetti, and travel games. A café and bookstore are located downstairs.

3-7-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3470-1424. Open daily 11am-8pm, until 9pm on Wed. Nearest stns: Gaienmae or Meijijingumae. www.watarium.co.jp

Ginza Ito-ya

Spread out over several buildings and occupying numerous floors, Ito-ya is the Kinokuniya of stationery stores. Their Ginza location comprises three buildings for a total of 18 floors of design materials, personal organizers, office supplies, picture frames and, during winter, a beautiful selection of imported Christmas cards. One of their most impressive features is a collection of over 600 types of fountain and ball-point pens on the M floor of the main building. Ito-ya stocks Mount Blanc, Cartier and Caran d'Ache, but its prize is the Pilot Namiki line, a foreign-targeted brand that Ito-ya spent over two years convincing Pilot to sell domestically. Namiki pens (up to ¥1.5 million) are decorated with exquisitely detailed raised lacquer work that can only be completed by two or three artisans in Japan. Another Ito-ya specialty: anyone waiting to enter their doors before they open each morning is greeted with free hot coffee. (Cold tea is served in the summer.) Ito-ya also cleans and services fountain pens.

2-7-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Tel: 03-3561-8311. Open Mon- Fri: 10am-7pm, Sun and hols 10:30am-7pm. Nearest stn: Ginza. www.ito-ya.co.jp

Kyukyodo

The ground for the first Kyukyodo store was broken in 1633 in the Teramachi district of Kyoto by a descendent of a warrior whose deeds are chronicled in The Tale of the Heike. More than 300 years later, Kyukyodo still stocks incense, sumi ink, and calligraphy brushes. But they also sell rubber stamps in kanji and English, washi photo frames, and gold wedding albums. Customers are just as apt to be foreign tourist groups strolling Ginza's Chuo Dori as kimono-clad women looking for that perfect New Year's card, scroll hanger, or shrine book. The first floor of Kyukyodo's main Ginza branch stocks more than 250 different rolls of washi in every color and style imaginable, from delicate two-color patterns and in-your-face sakura motifs to thick lacquer-like red and black paper. Washi letter sets and more expensive Chinese types for calligraphy are also on offer.

7-4-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Tel: 03-3571-4429. Open Mon-Fri 10am-7:30pm, Sun and hols 11am-7pm. Nearest stn: Ginza. www.kyukyodo.co.jp

Montblanc

One symbol of status and success is a star-topped Montblanc pen clip just visible in a breast pocket, but the high-end brand has just pushed its logo design to another level. On their new StarWalker series, the six-pointed star literally floats in a transparent cap, and the bodies of the pens are a sleek black resin with three platinum stripes around the middle. The StarWalker stays away from Montblanc's typical-and sometimes a tad corny-composer- and musician-themed series. The ballpoint twist-in pen runs close to ¥30,000, while the nib of the fountain pen version comes in four different widths. Montblanc's small-scale, two-story boutique, tucked in the back streets of Ginza, doesn't stock the new diamond-inlaid gold or platinum Palm Pilot stylus, but their other products are a stylish option for those impossible-to-find male gifts. Check Montblanc's website for details and for their three other Tokyo locations.

7-5-9 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Tel: 03-5568-8881. Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-8pm, Sun and hols 11am-6:30pm. Nearest stn. Ginza. www.montblanc.com

Photos by Martin Hladik

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