Amy is just back from an inspiring paper tour of Japan, and here she shares the Mark+Fold travel Journal she took with her to collect paper mementos along the way.
A well-travelled Mark+Fold Travel Journal in pistache, adorned with 'JAPAN' letter stickers picked up from Sekaido, one of Tokyo's best stationery and art supply shops.
Travel Journal itinerary page, filled in with details of dates, flights and accommodation. Amy will be sharing a comprehensive itinerary of places she visited and places she stayed, in our newsletter next week (sign up here if you'd like to receive it).
In-built glassine pockets hold receipts, tickets and other travel mementos. The translucent paper offers a satisfying rustling sounds as you flick back through your travel souvenirs and lets you glance at your collection without taking everything out.
Japan of course has great paper everywhere you look. One of our favourite things was the beautifully designed entry tickets to paper factories, museums and galleries, often on really interesting and high quality paper. This blue patterned one from Awagami Paper Factory, was one of five designs offered on a tray (so cute!) at the entrance.
A luggage tag from one of the hotels we stayed at in Shikoku, which is Japan's least visited island and beyond the route most tourists take. We had a privileged experience here, sleeping in a house made of wood and paper, with traditional tatami mats and futon beds.
A 'trainspotters stamp' collected at Asakusabashi station on the east side of Tokyo. Many train stations have these stamps available for people wanting to record the places they have travelled to. This was collected on our second day in Tokyo, on the way to visit stationery shop Kakimori and Takeo Paper Shop nearby.
Great food and drink packaging collected in Mima, Shikoku. The top one is from a doughnut shop which had this great illustrative branding. And the bottom one was a sort of drinks can made of paper, containing a citrus juice from Tokushima (possibly yuzu?).
Stamps collected on our visit to Awagami Paper Factory, illustrating different stages of the paper-making process, including boiling the Kozo (or Mulberry tree) bark.
Last page of the journal, with another well-stuffed glassine envelope! This one has Mother's Day cards Amy's kids hid in her bag for her to open while she was away. On the left is packaging from a bakery in Kyoto — such a nice example of thoughtful, tactile paper packaging, even for something very everyday.
