Stationery Shopping in Japan

Earlier this year, we took our stationery obsession to new heights and went all the way to Japan to explore all things paper — from stationery shopping in Tokyo, to hand-making paper in rural Tokushima, to the craft and heritage of Kyoto's calligraphy specialists. As part of our Japan Journals Series, ere's a look at the shops that filled our hearts (and suitcases) with inspiration along the way.

"I grew up spending a lot of time stationery shopping, but to be honest since I set up Mark+Fold I actually do it less often these days. So to go to Japan, which really feels like another world, and one where paper is respected and celebrated in an entirely different way, was very exciting for me. I did honestly get those little flutters of excitement as I walked around, like I used to when I was 15!" 

3-1-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0022, Japan
sekaido.co.jp

Sekaido is the ultimate art shop — floor after floor of card, board, brushes and glue, lit in that pleasingly functional fluorescent glow only a proper trade supplier can pull off. Open since 1940 and spread across five levels near Shinjuku Sanchome Station, it's known for its 20% discount on list prices and a catalogue so vast that staff can find almost anything on request. The pens and paints section is a particular joy — a catalogue of colour so wonderful you could just stand and scan the shelves. Beyond that: stickers with type on them, an entire section devoted to glue (so many glues), and tape sold in bundles, in every width imaginable. On this visit, home came masking tape, stickers set in Gill lettering, and a set of origami erasers. Sekaido rewards browsing over hunting — it's less about finding one specific thing and more about the sheer, slightly overwhelming range of a proper working art store, used by professionals and hobbyists alike since long before "stationery shopping" was a trip in itself.

21-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0042, Japan
loft.co.jp

Loft is an extensive, satisfying, comprehensive catalogue of everything — broad enough to appeal to school kids browsing pens after class and adults hunting for a proper diary, without ever feeling unsophisticated. Spread over seven floors of central Shibuya, with around 80,000 items, the basement level is stationery heaven: stickers, washi tape in every pattern going, pens, planners and paper goods stacked wall to wall. What stood out most was the scale of it and the way it's zoned — different areas for different obsessions — plus the sheer breadth of who it's for, from schoolboys to design-literate adults, all clearly delighted to be there. The demo notebooks and diaries, laid out to test and handle, were a particular highlight. This visit's haul: a roll of tape printed with the times of day, the kind of small, well-made detail that makes Japanese stationery shopping so addictive.

1-6-2 Misuji, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0055, Japan
kakimori.com

Kakimori has a sleeker feel than most — wood-panelled throughout, with a clear focus on calligraphy and noticeably fewer notebooks than expected, given its reputation. Opened in Kuramae in 2010 by third-generation stationer Takuma Hirose, the shop is best known for its made-to-order notebook service: choose your paper, cover and binding, and watch it assembled in front of you in under an hour. Wiro binding isn't a personal favourite, and it's easy to see why offering something thread-sewn or glue-bound would be tricky to do at that speed — but the idea itself, of building a notebook exactly to spec, is a lovely one. The ink pots were a highlight, as were the reusable notebook covers (an approach we take too), and the glass-nibbed calligraphy pens. This visit's haul: ink, notebook refills and covers. Next door, sister shop Inkstand by Kakimori lets you mix your own bespoke fountain pen ink — worth building in extra time for.

5-7-4 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
kyukyodo.co.jp

Kyukyodo has real heritage — founded in Kyoto in 1663, originally as a pharmacy, before turning its attention to incense, calligraphy and paper goods, and later serving as official stationer to the Japanese Imperial Household. The Ginza store, reached through a distinctive arched brick entrance, has a tightly packed, almost bazaar-like feel: decorative papers, the beautiful fish motif pieces, and shelf after shelf of irresistible little cards and envelopes. The decorative papers in particular produced a genuine heart-flutter scanning the shelves. Upstairs holds historic books and specialist calligraphy brushes, including some enormous ones, alongside trays for mixing your own ink — something learned about first-hand in a calligraphy workshop. The whole shop has an atmosphere of barely audible gasps of joy, other customers included. Came away with the fish motif pieces, along with a stack of notelets and envelopes.

MUJI Ginza, 3-3-5 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
muji.com

Muji in Japan is a different proposition entirely to its UK stores — the stationery section alone is vastly more expansive. The Ginza flagship, opened in 2019 as Muji's global flagship across ten floors, dedicates an entire level to stationery, fragrance and everyday paper goods, laid out with the brand's usual restraint. There's real range here too: fun, accessible basics alongside simpler, more considered bindings, and genuinely nice calendar and planner layouts. What stood out most was the concept behind the planning booklets — weekly, daily, yearly — and the deliberate simplicity and restrained palette running through all of it, a useful reminder of how much can be said with very little. Came home with a snap-shut pencil case with a magnetic close, and a paper version of the reusable leather covers used in our own notebooks.

3-18-3 Kanda Nishiki-cho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0054, Japan
takeo.co.jp

Takeo is a paper supplier working with mills across Japan, many of them in the foothills of Mount Fuji, drawing on the exceptionally clean mountain water there. The Jinbocho showroom, MIHONCHO HONTEN, displays thousands of paper types arranged for browsing and testing, with an incredible range of textures and colours — clever finishes that mimic metallic sheen or watermarking sit alongside more traditional stock. The colour-coding throughout the space makes an enormous, potentially overwhelming range genuinely easy to navigate, and our hosts there were wonderful, generous with both time and knowledge. A special swatch book of very traditional papers, tucked away at the back of the room, was a particular find — plus, memorably, a vending machine on site. Kindly gifted swatch books and paper samples on this visit, since Takeo operates more as a trade showroom for designers and printers than a retail shop in the usual sense.

141 Kawahigashi, Yamakawa-cho, Yoshinogawa-shi, Tokushima 779-3401, Japan
awagami.com

Totally different to anywhere else on this list — quiet, and genuinely in the middle of nowhere, in the Yoshinogawa valley of rural Tokushima. Awagami is an eighth-generation, family-run washi paper mill, still run by the Fujimori family, producing handmade paper from kozo, bamboo, mitsumata, gampi and hemp fibres using techniques largely unchanged for centuries. What made it special was meeting the people who actually make the paper, and looking down into the factory floor to watch it happen live — made more meaningful still after getting hands-on in the process myself earlier that day. The range of specialist paper is huge, including experimental one-off pieces, in wildly different textures and techniques. The connection between the making and the shop — a window looking directly into the working factory — was genuinely magical, as was the history steeped into every corner of the place, and meeting the family themselves. Came away with swatch books, a huge roll on a string grid, an indigo-dipped sheet, one deliberately scrunched for texture, and a handful of smaller sample pieces that went straight into our own Stationery Subscription parcels.

520 Shimohonnojimaecho, Teramachi-dori Anekoji-agaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8091, Japan
kyukyodo.co.jp

A totally different experience to the Ginza branch — different enough that it barely felt like the same shop, spread across two buildings facing each other on Teramachi-dori. This is Kyukyodo's original home, founded here in Kyoto in 1663, on more or less the same site it occupies today, next to Honno-ji temple. It became a favourite for its interior and lighting alone, along with an emphasis on calligraphy and cards over notebooks — though the notebooks it does stock come in linen and leather reusable covers, pleasingly similar in spirit to our own. The huge calligraphy brushes on display were another highlight. Picked up a set of small cards here for subscribers, alongside the lighting-induced urge to linger a little longer than planned.

Terimachi-Dori

A smaller, specialist shop found while exploring Kyoto, focused squarely on calligraphers: gold-edged cards to take your "neat handwriting" up a notch, beautifully organised and labelled packets of paper, and a lovely little selection of boxes and stamps. This was one of many shops I found myself wandering into, which were not famous names and didn't always have an obvious sign outside — it was as if local people just knew where to go to seek out beautiful paper. And I was more than happy to join them!

Before the trip, we asked every stationery-lover we know who's visited or lived in Japan for recommendations, and pored over online guides — but even with the best-laid plans, some shops didn't make it into this trip. I was particularly sad to miss Ozu Washi, which came recommended by several people. It's in Tokyo and you can make your own washi on-site, with classes available in English and a beautiful stock of paper. And Haibara, the oldest paper shop in Japan, dating back to 1806

Also on the list for next time:

Itoya

Origami Kaikan

Pigment

Asahiya Paper Stationery Store

Ota-ku

Papier Labo

Tokyo Hands

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