Holiday Weekend Reading, May 25, 2026 (Japan Edition!)

1. Visit to Traveler’s Factory Airport, Japan (via Inkredible Colours). Funny how I just stopped in here myself! It’s a fun little place to pick up some unique refills and accessories.

2. 2026 Stationery Park Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Another stationery event that looks well-attended and well-stocked.

3. Obsessed with Show Inks: ChiPS 2026 (via Dime Novel Raven). This year’s Chicago Pen Show seemed like an improvement on recent years, as many vendors I spoke to had a good experience. And of course there are all the show inks…

4. I Tracked Down the Zento Signature Special Edition Only to Swap to a New Ink (via dwrdnet). It’s interesting to read about preferences, because I strongly prefer the Zento refill to the Uni One. You also can’t find these anywhere, including Tokyo.

5. 26 Pens in Under 26 Minutes: My Diplomat Pens Family (via Inkdependence). Diplomat pens are reliable writers, and Mike has quite the collection.

6. Tour of Papier Plume, New Orleans Stationery and Pen Store (via Feed Your Creativity). Papier Plume is one of my favorite U.S. stationery destinations, and a must-visit if you are ever in New Orleans.

7. Magna Carta Truflex Gold Nib (via Inky.Rocks). I have seen what these Magna Carta Truflex nibs can do and the results seem impressive. I may try to get my hands on one at an upcoming pen show (D.C. or San Francisco).

8. TaG Submarine Ballpoint (via Figboot on Pens). These TaG pens have caught my eye more than once. Now I just have to try one.

9. Dicey Journaling (via From the Pen Cup). More fun journaling ides with Mary! I have a set of these dice and may give this a whirl.

10. Mini Photo Printer Comparison for Journaling (via Well-Appointed Desk). I took my Canon Ivy with me to Japan, and have generally been pleased given how I use this piece of gear.

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Just wait until you read my recap of the Kakimori Ink Stand experience!

In Case You Missed It…

I’m in Japan! This past week I haven’t had too much time to post trip updates, other than my Travel Day status update, and a pictorial recap from Days 2 and 3 (where I bought a LOT of stationery right out of the gate). Stay tuned for additional recaps this week, including my visit to Kakimori Tokyo and the custom notebook and custom ink stand experiences.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: Don’t Miss the Memorial Day Sale!

This year’s annual holiday weekend sale will snag you 10% off most brands of ink and paper using “TOKYO10” at checkout. We’ve also received the new Lamy Safaris in Neon Pink and Neon Yellow, as well as over 1000 Zebra Sarasa Clip gel pens, Pilot Frixions, and more.

Our Nashville showroom is open regular hours (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm) during my absence. Please be patient if we do take a bit longer to respond to e-mails and social media inquiries due to travel.

Zebra

Tono & Lims

Craft Design Technology

Pilot Metropolitan

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Japan Trip Journal: Days 2 and 3 (Stationery, Stationery, and More Stationery)

I’ve now spent two days in Tokyo, although I’m operating at half-speed due to jet lag and relying on adrenaline to carry me through. As you will see from the pictures here, we’ve visited several of the major Tokyo Stationery Stores, including Itoya and Maruzen; the Sailor boutique Ancora; and a handful of smaller market-stall stores. We also stopped by the TRAVELER’s Factory Store and the Tokyo Starbucks Reserve Store (known for its TRAVELER’s Company collaborations and special edition stationery products). To be honest, the past couple of days have been overwhelming, without much time to digest everything I’ve seen into a comprehensive post. Tokyo easily has more stationery than any city I’ve ever visited, so for now, enjoy some pictures I managed to snap. More to come!

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The flagship Itoya store has a diorama featuring a model of their original storefront. There’s been a big history component to this trip in addition to pure shopping.

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Yes, that is an entire wall of 6-ring binder refills.

We spent a Saturday afternoon exploring a market area with a local fountain pen enthusiast who was kind enough to show us around! Several of the stalls featured fountain pens - mostly modern and late-vintage pens.

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A case full of fountain pens in one market stall.

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I managed to pick up another now-discontinued Pilot Capless in the Japan-only Mustard Yellow color, with the special alloy nib.

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We had to wait in line to enter the TRAVELER’S Store. Demand doesn’t seem to be slowing down globally….

These glass pens were mostly house exclusives to Tsutaya Books, located near the TRAVELER’S Factory Store.

Don’t forget our memorial day weekend sale!

Through Monday evening (5/25), take 10% off Paper and Ink in our online shop using “TOKYO10” at checkout. We are also open in the Nashville store regular hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-5pm Saturday. Be sure to come by and say hello to Lisa and Nick!

In addition to our physical store, the Gentleman Stationer is supported by online purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. For more Japan store visits, haul posts, and just some general commentary and observations from a place I’ve never visited before, be sure to follow the TGS Instagram and YouTube accounts!

Weekly Drops: New Lamys, Zebra Sarasas, and a Holiday Weekend Sale! Take 10% off Paper and Ink!

I’m getting settled during my travels and regular posting will resume tomorrow, but the team in Nashville is busy making sure all orders are going out and holding down the fort at the shop. Through Monday evening (5/25), take 10% off Paper and Ink in our shop using “TOKYO10” at checkout. We are open in the Nashville store regular hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-5pm Saturday. Come by and say hello to Lisa and Nick!

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As for this week’s drops, check out the following new Lamy Safaris and more! We continue to add new products, including thousands of Zebra gel pens that arrived in recent days. We’ve also recently added new leather products from Craft Design Technology, including portfolios, clutches, and card holders. Enjoy!

1. Lamy Safari Special Edition Neon Pink and Neon Yellow. The new Lamy Safaris are here, in both Neon Pink and Neon Yellow! in addition to the fountain pens, we have the rollerballs and ballpoints and mechanical pencils.

2. Zebra Sarasa Clip Gel Pens (Standard Line). The Zebra Sarasa Clip gel pen line offers over 20 different ink colors and four different tip sizes. If you’re looking for a specific shade, you should be able to find it here!

3. Zebra Sarasa Clip Gel Pens (Milk and Decoshine Line). The “Milk” and “Decoshine” Sarasa colors are designed to write on either white or black paper.

4. Pilot Frixion Waai Erasable Gel Pens. Now available individually, the Frixion Waai pens combine a .5mm tip with Pilot’s erasable Frixion ink technology. We have up to 8 colors, all of which are available individually.

5. Craft Design Technology Leather Cases. We’ve expanded our selection of CDT leather accessories to include a set of clutch cases, card holders, and more!

6. Blackwing Volume 343 Pencils. Inspired by the classic T.V. test patterns, Blackwing’s latest release features their extra-firm graphite, the same as contained in the Blackwing Natural pencil.

7. Lochby Field Binder 6-Ring Binders. Lochby’s new 6-ring binder systems have been a hit, both the binders themselves and the 6-ring Tomoe River 68g refills.

8. Lochby Field Sling A5 Pouch. The popular Lochby A5 Field Sling is back in stock, in all colors. I kind of wish I had brought one of these with me to Tokyo as a secondary carry device, actually.

9. Kaweco Sport Rollerballs and Ballpoints. We’ve added rollerball and ballpoint options to our Kaweco Sport lineup, so you can create a matching set as you like.

10. TWSBI ECO Bahama Yellow Restock. We’ve received a shipment of additional Bahama Yellow fountain pens, as well as more TWSBI Diamond 580 and ECOs in styles and nib sizes that have been out of stock.

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Japan Trip Journal: Day One (Travel Day)

And we’re off! This will be my last dispatch from the U.S. before we land in Japan in approximately 20 hours. I say “approximately” because departure has been delayed out of LAX for two hours, but at least we have some time to catch up and decompress. (This is a three-layover, 25+ hour journey, which I’ve not done in many, many years.)

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My everyday pen case for this trip will be my Rickshaw Fillmore, and my everyday notebook a TGS_25 Roterfaden (we hope to have more this summer).

So here’s where things stand, stationery-wise. I posted earlier that I was considering a two-pen carry. That did not happen, though I did thin out my notebooks a bit and made my bag a bit lighter. You can read more about how I chose my gear for this trip in last week’s post, but future posts will focus more on new discoveries.

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I added another fountain pen for the trip - a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 - as well as a few gel pens.

Despite a busy schedule, I plan to do regular trip updates, even if they might not be daily. You can expect store visits, haul posts, and just some general commentary and observations from a place I’ve never visited before. Stay tuned, and also watch the TGS Instagram and YouTube accounts!

Things will remain business as usual in Nashville while I’m gone! Come see TGS in our Nashville showroom, open regular hours this week (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm).

New Arrivals: Zebra Sarasa Clips in ALL the Colors, Plus Pilot Frixion Waai!

I may be leaving for Japan tomorrow morning, but that doesn’t mean new arrivals aren’t still flooding into the shop. Coincidentally, we just received a massive shipment of Japanese gel pens, including the Zebra Sarasa Clips in 20 different colors and four tip sizes (.3mm, .4mm, .5mm, and .7mm), as well as the “Milk” and “Decoshine” collections in .5mm. The latter are perfect for writing on black paper, such as these Black Edition Notepads from Craft Design Technology!

We also have a restock of the erasable Pilot Frixion Waai, now available in individual colors instead of a five-pack. There are eight new pens, with the Black, Bronze, and Cherry additions being particularly legible and well-saturated for Frixions. Enjoy!

Come see these and more in our Nashville showroom, open regular hours this week (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm).