Searching for the best pen-ink-paper experience, I've collected dozens of papers from around the world and tested them for look and feel. Different configurations of nib size, shape, smoothness, and wetness and different inks cause some rearrangement of the rankings. But I've found that the main brands of Japanese notepaper consistently rank at the top. So I thought it would be useful to give a collective review of them.

The first thing I look for in paper is line definition. By this, I mean that you get ink exactly where the nib touches paper, no more or less. A too-soft surface allows the line to spread and on a too-hard surface it contracts. On a paper with perfect definition, the edges of a line would have a clean arc, as when you look at printed type.

Here is a ranking of some representative papers from best to worst definition:
1. Apica
2. Kokuyo Campus Note
3. Masuya
4. Maruman Mnemosyne
5. Kokuyo Campus Report Pad (This is my minimum for good.)
6. Brunnen MK Papier, Clairefontaine, vintage National Brand
7. Tsubame
8. Tops quadrille pad, Miquelrius
9. Ampad Gold Fibre, Brunnen Block, Brunned Student, Brunnen Vivendi, Kokuyo Campus Airmail
10. Ordning & Reda

The other thing I look for is comfort, and this is harder to rank. I distinguish two factors, hardness (absorbancy) and roughness (bumpiness). A soft, smooth paper and a hard, rough paper may give the same level of friction (tooth) against the travel of the nib, yet feel quite different. You may think that a hard, smooth paper would be best, but take it too far and it can feel like walking on an icy sidewalk.

Here is a rough ranking of some papers from best to worst for comfort:
1. Kokuyo Campus Report Pad
2. Maruman Mnemosyne
3. Apica
4. Kokuyo Campus Note (This is my minimum for good, with an EF nib.)
5. Tsubame, Clairefontaine, Miquelrius, Masuya
6. Ampad Gold Fibre, Kokuyo Campus Airmail
7. Tops quadrille pad
8. Brunnen Block
9. MK Papier
10. vintage National Brand
11. Ordning & Reda
12. Brunnen Vivendi
13. Bunnen Student
14. Tops Docket Gold canary
15. Amalfi Amatruda

Now for some comments about specific brands.

Kokuyo is the giant of Japanese office supply. They sell a mind-boggling range of paper products but you should stick to their Campus line of stationery. All Campus Note notebooks use the same paper, but the various Campus Report pads use a variety of papers, all of which are harder and smoother than the Campus Note paper. If you want to get notebooks, note that the Spiral bound (Su- series) uses the same paper as the Twin Ring bound (Su-T series) and is cheaper. For a pad, try the Re-10 series rather than the Re-700.
http://www.kokuyo-st.co.jp/

Apica notebook paper is rougher and slightly harder than a Kokuyo Campus Report pad, with better definition. The paper may be white or cream, but it's all the same quality. However, the mini (A7) notebooks seem to have slightly inferior paper.
http://www.apica.co.jp/

Maruman is hard to generalize about, because they use various papers and they seem to change their product line often. One popular line is the Boston Note. The paper is not quite as nice as the Apica and I don't like it because of the heavy, dark lines. But you may like it if you like that dark look. The product I would advise anyone to try is the Mnemosyne. Its paper is highly unusual in that it combines properties of hard and soft. It is very smooth to write on and has good definition, yet it takes a darker line than than other slick papers. This would be perfect for use with lighter inks like Herbin. I would especially recommend Clairefontaine users to give the Mnemosyne a try.
http://www.e-maruman.co.jp/

Tsubame is a small company and uses the same paper in all its products. It is rougher and has less definition than the others but is still better than most paper from other countries. The surface is fairly hard and doesn't take a dark line. What is notable about the paper is its more sophisticated look. It has a watermarked laid design and the lines are a subdued gray.
http://www.tsubamenote.co.jp/

Masuya is made by a small outfit and I don't think you can get it outside Japan. Their paper comes in white or cream and feels like the Tsubame but has much better definition. It is worth mentioning because it has become something of a cult item with Japanese authors. They say that their paper is made specifically with fountain pens in mind, so of course I had to try it. Touching nib to paper, I didn't hear angels sing, but I could understand the appeal. It's for people who like a wet, medium or broad nib and some tactile feedback. Writing on Masuya is like driving a Mercedes; you feel the quality but you also feel the road.
http://www.tctv.ne.jp/masuya/

Wow, that's truly invaluable. Thanks so much! Have you tested/seen the Golden Panda line? Jerry's Artarama is selling a sample book for only $1.99 right now, so I'm thinking of getting it. A roll of 10 sheets can be cut into any size, so I'm thinking of getting one and making a couple of handmade journals, if only I knew which kind to buy for FP/ink. I'm thinking Wantan or Macau from the descriptions in their catalog.

Has anyone done this sort of testing with hot-pressed art paper such as Fabriano or Arches, or common drawing/sketch paper, or any printer's paper? I've found a couple of Wassau papers that will take ink well - mainly the ones made for professional printing and a parchment line that has a lovely smooth surface. I'm buried in rural land, so it's hard to get to a commercial paper store to gather samples.

I'm having a fit right now with a Canson drawing tablet; they seem to have changed their formula (never mind it's supposed to be suitable for ink - hah!). It's feathering all over the place when I'm using black India ink, trying to develop a new medieval hand for calligraphy.

I'm not using a fountain pen, but a Speedball C4 nib. It's making me nuts. I can't afford to use hot-pressed paper all of the time, so any suggestions for paper one can pick up at OfficeMax or Michaels would be great.

Having used several of these papers, I read your evaluation with interest and appreciation. It seems a bit harder to get hold of, but have you tried Life Vincent notebooks? They come in A4 to small pad sizes, with steel spiral binding, and wonderful, cream colored paper--and especially good for wet writing fountain pens.

Ah... so many beautiful papers to sample! I fear I shall soon be on the phone to Kinokuniya and breaking my "no more paper!" New Year's resolution.

Great review - thanks for making the effort.
Here is Australia we are severely limited and I tend to order my notebooks from online US stores. However recently I found a local Melbourne source for a limited range of Campus product and your review is spot on. I like the paper although if I have any criticism it is a fraction hard. But not enough to bother me. The other good thing about Campus is it is very well priced.
If any locals would like to know where I buy mine message me and I'll pass on the contact details.

Thanks, nice review.

Where do you get your paper?

So far, I have been able to do my paper shopping on trips to Tokyo. But that's not the convenience it may sound like. Even the biggest shops like Ito-ya and Tokyu Hands carry only a token selection of the major brands. Hunting particular items takes a lot of travel around town. If you know the product number of what you want, you are better off ordering through your local Kinokuniya. In the USA, that costs about 50% over the Japanese retail price, but you save the subway fare.

Tsubame products are easy to order because the paper is all the same. Just choose the format you want from their web site. Maruman is easy too, since there are only one or two models worth trying. Ordering Apica gets tricky because their catalog is not fully descriptive of the differences between models, and shops never seem to stock much of a selection of this brand. After years of this, I still haven't completely sorted out the Apica product line. Ordering Kokuyo is fraught with pitfalls, as they have many, many products and the naming can be misleading. Products with similar names can have very different paper. Hence, my advice to stick to just a few products in the Campus line.

There are many other brand names you can find in Japan. For the most part, these are "house brands" that have been contracted from some major supplier. So far, I haven't seen one match the quality of Apica or Kokuyo. If you try the Apica notebook, Kokuyo Campus note, Kokuyo Campus Report pad, Maruman Mnemosyne note, and perhaps the Masuya, I think you will have sampled the best that can be done to fit different tastes in notebook paper.

Outstanding review and resource! Thanks for compiling and sharing your information.

Do you have specific comments on Clairefontaine? Like many others here, that has been my high water mark so far, although, based on your review, I plan to try some of the Japanese papers.

Have you tried the Campus High Grade line? There are two types, Cyo-Bo and Mio paper. According to the website, either is good for fountain pens. "The nib won't catch and the ink won't bleed."
http://www.kokuyo-st.co.jp/stationery/campus_hg/

Every day I'm getting more excited about going back to Japan!

Neill

The Campus High Grade line is great - I have a Semi B5, 7mm Rule, 120 Sheet notebook which is superb. It has the MIO (Mobile Ideal Original) paper, which is 60 g/m², easy on the eyes with 80% whiteness and also acid-free.

The MIO paper is as slick as Clairefontaine 100 g/m² (24lb) white vellum and every bit as smooth. Some of my problem inks prone to feathering do not feather nor bleed on the MIO paper, and even though the paper is thin, you can write both sides of the page with minimal show-through. The line rulings are far finer, paler and much less obtrusive compared to Clairefontaine.

Phthalo, thanks for letting me know. I wonder what my family will say when I come back from Japan with a suitcase full of paper and pens. Oh, I know.. "Where's the camera stuff?"

Neill

Just when I had settled on the Clairefontaine, Laura, your description of the MIO has persuaded me to try to find some. Do you know anything about the Cyo-Bo paper in comparison?

Campus products are fantastic. There is a supplier in Melbourne called My Office. Here is the link as they do sell online. Not the best web site ever but they are very helpful on the telephone as well and do answer emails. Just type Campus in the search for the list of products - basically loose leaf binders, white and coloured loose leaf refills, dividers etc as well as a few sizes of inexpensive notebooks.

http://www.myofficesupplies.com.au

I haven't tried the Kokuyo Cyo-Bo yet, but I hope to soon.

I'm in the midst of writing a full review for another brand of Japanese paper, but in my testing to date, I have found the MIO to be the best Japanese paper so far - better even than the thicker Maruman Mnemosyne paper, which is really great stuff. I can't get anything to feather on the MIO, nor does it show-through, and while nothing seems to feather on the Mnemosyne paper either, it *will* show-through and *almost* bleed to the back with dark, free-flowing problem inks. The thinner MIO paper does neither, and is truly amazing in this regard!

I also have some Kyokuto College Plus series notebooks (which state they are "for all sensuous people"). These have thicker, grayer paper than the Campus series, and only show minute feathering with problem inks. Worth checking out also.

You can buy some of the Apica notebooks from this eBay store. No relationship to the seller except I've bought notebooks a couple times and I love the paper.

http://stores.ebay.com/Take-Note-Writing-Gear

"ordering through your local Kinokuniya" .... OK I don't know what that means. Guess I live too far in the boonies, tho' we do get cable TV!

Kinokuniya is a global chain of Japanese bookstores.

I see what you mean, Laura! http://www.kokuyo.co.jp/press/news/20070614-717.html It seems that the paper was developed by Kokuyo specifically to accommodate gel-ink pens. Not surprising that it works so well with fountain pens, too.

But unfortunately they don't have any stationery listed on their Australian website and telephone enquiries are very poorly handled (going on my two experiences).

Yes, getting stationery from the Sydney store does take a bit of perseverance over the telephone, but it is well worth the effort.

I got a lot out of this thread, and wanted to add more to it. Sorry for hijacking it a bit but I thought this info would fit well here.

Recently I was going through boxes looking for Japanese textbooks that I used in Japan. Along with the textbooks I found the old notebooks I was using while I was there, and immediately wanted to try my fountain pens on them. When I was in Japan as a student I wrote mainly in pencil, since I was still learning and made too many mistakes to write in ink.

I've got two different notebooks from the same company, University CO-OP (alternately spelled COOP, and pronounced like "cope"). COOP is a large company that sells just about everything you can imagine. They are often found on public university campuses and act as bookstores/stationary shops/computer stores/convenience stores for students, and their home-branded stuff is usually fairly inexpensive but good quality.

The first notebook is called SCHOLAR and is CO-OP's standard line (according to the byline on the cover). This one is made by Kokuyo and rebranded. I'm taking an educated guess based on the markings on the notebook, but I think it's a Kokuyo Campus Note #6. It's 30 pages, Semi B5 size, 7mm ruled, slightly off-white, for 80 yen (about 75 cents USD), which makes it cheaper than the "real" Kokuyo. It's super smooth and nice to write on, as the reviews here say.

The second is more interesting. It is a CO-OP OB3C notebook, boasting "This notebook is made of COOP original paper." at 120 yen for 30 pages it's still pretty cheap. The paper type/colour is "kuriimu fluusu " and I don't have a clue what that means. It's 81.4g/m, 257x182mm. It's definitely a cream colour, and each page is watermarked. I can see two different watermarks depending on the page. One says "Original Superfine" with a logo of the letters O K overlapped. The other is some kind of logo that I can't make out, but it looks like a crest. This paper is a bit more textured and feathered slightly with my wet Pelikan M tip and J. Herbin Lie de The, but my finer pens worked perfectly. There is some show through, but no bleed through at all. I think this paper makes the ink colours look darker and more saturated, which is nice.
*Edit: After reviewing the OP, I realized that this is actually a rebranded Tsubame notebook. They haven't even changed the colour of the cover or binding, though the logo is different than the Tsubame.*

I'll probably stock up on the SCHOLAR when I go to Japan this spring, since it's a nice Kokuyo for an even cheaper price. Man.. Japanese paper is so good compared to what I can get here!! And cheap! If only COOP would take over my university bookstore...

If anyone would like pictures, I will take some.

Happy writing,

Neill

Thank you Neill! It's always good to hear about Japanese papers.

Neil,

COOP is actually a co-op, and you probably have paid a fee to be a member (might have been included in school fees), though anyone can go in and buy things from them. When I was a university student in Japan we called it Seikyo (生協). Also people in community can organize a group and they will deliver merchandise once a week to the group. At the same time you get an order form and catalogs for the following week. They have grocery stores all over the country and they sell rebranded Kokuyo notebooks, too. I just found out they have an online store, but did not see any notebooks etc.



That would be "cream (colored) fools (foolscap paper)". That's their "signature" paper. It should have their watermark. I heard Tsubame's paper quality is not as good as it used to be somewhere.

Please do post pictures of the notebooks

Hi Taki,

Yes, we always called it Seikyo, and indeed the paper products there are branded on the back with the "National University Lifestyle Cooperative" division (?) of the COOP chain. I'd guess that since it's a special service to university students they have special products that aren't available through their mail order company.
I did not pay any school fees at all, but since they don't check your student ID card (and international students often can't get one anyway), as you say anybody can go in and buy the paper! I will definitely make a trip to my old campus this spring!



Ahh, I hate katakana-go. I would never have thought of foolscap, especially since at school in Canada foolscap means legal size (probably because it makes longer pointier hats). Maybe the paper isn't as good as it used to be, but it's still better than anything I can get at my university bookstore here. It seems to only feather (very slightly) with my Pelikan, which is pretty wet, has a fairly wide M nib, and is full of J. Herbin, which everybody says is runny. But it feels nice to write on, and wow.. the ink looks so bold on it!

On a semi-related note, Ebisu beer isn't as good as it used to be either.

I'll try to upload some pictures of the notebooks later along with some pen/ink tests on the paper.

As requested, some photos of the notebooks. I was too lazy to set up the tripod so the lighting is not very good.

The Scholar notebooks aren't much to look at. The blue book is 6mm ruled and the green is 7mm.

Click to view attachment

Hopefully you can see by this ink test that the lines are very smooth. I focused on the brown; compare it with the COOP premium notebook ink test at the bottom.

Click to view attachment

Here's a picture of the cover of the COOP original. The red circle on the top right is my name stamp, not a manufacturing mark.

Click to view attachment

And the ink test, which shows some fine feathering (only with this Pelikan M and J. Herbin Lie de The; my other inks don't feather at all. You can see how this paper is quite textured compared to the Scholar above. These are quick pictures and I didn't set the white balance so the papers look similar in colour, but actually this notebook is a much creamier colour than the picture shows.

Click to view attachment

Enjoy,

Neill

I've just been paper shopping in Tokyo and it has left me feeling a bit guilty about leaving folks up to their own devices to find the items I mentioned in the OP. I went to large and small shops all over town and couldn't find any place with more than a token selection from each manufacturer. You really are better off ordering through a Kinokuniya store. To help you do that, I'm going to give some more specific information about item numbers for Kokuyo and Apica.

I ought to mention about other brands. I do see a lot of products from names like Kyokuto, Midori, and Life, but I have reasons for not drawing attention to them. First, I think it's easier for everyone if I concentrate on a few product lines from major companies. Also, my general impression is that these other brands are of slightly lower quality than what I mentioned in the OP, though they are probably still an improvement over most of what you could get in the US or EU.

While there, I had a chance to examine the Kokuyo Campus High Grade MIO and Cyo-Bo notebooks. I wouldn't say they are higher quality than the normal Campus line, but the paper is quite different. The regular Campus paper has a slight tooth, but the MIO and Cyo-Bo are very slick. The Cyo-Bo paper comes in taped or twin-ring notebooks. The paper is the same weight as Clairfontaine (100 gsm) and the covers are a similar heavy card. Think of a Clairfontaine notebook with quieter lines and no clay coating on the paper and you have it. The MIO paper is rather thin for a notebook (60 gsm) and it comes in taped notebooks, glued pocketbooks, and letter pads. I think the MIO paper would be really good with a sewn binding like in a Moleskine, but I don't think it works well in the formats they chose. The MIO notebooks don't lay open well, especially the pocket-sized ones.

Speaking of Kokuyo, while they make a wide range of spiral notebooks, I couldn't find any in shops, and they don't list them on their web site. They do still have them in their print catalog, which is accessible online but tricky to find. To get you started in ordering some, the basic serial number for a B5, twin-ring notebook is Su-T110. When you call/go to Kinokuniya and they look it up in the Kokuyo catalog, they can tell you the range of formats and styles available. Usually, there are A4, B5, and A5 sizes and pages with lines at 7, 6, and 5 mm and blank and 5 mm graph. There are also more formats with limited styles and more styles in just B5 size. The cheapest deal on a Campus notebook is their "spiral ring" model, available in just B5 or A5 and 6 or 7 mm lines. The A5 is Su-105 and the B5 is Su-100.

Apica has a pretty wide range of notebooks, but we can roughly sort them by style and paper. For page styles, there are just two; B5 notebooks have 6.5 mm lines while A5 and A4 notebooks have 7 mm lines. There are two types of paper, cream and white. I think only two products have the cream paper, a taped notebook called "Glorious" and a twin-ring called Personal. All the other models have white paper, but I'm not completely sure it's all the same quality.

Pricing of Apica notebooks reflects the number of pages and the quality of the cover. So from the size and price, you can get some idea of what an item is like. The Personal note has a very nice cover like a book and the cheapest ones have card stock. The item numbers listed below are for the B5 size and all are twin-ring. I would suggest trying the CD line because it is more economical and offers the widest range of sizes.

Personal: SuPu-501B, 50 pp, 609 yen (book cover)
Renaissance: SW81C, 60 pp, 525 yen (book cover)
Figurare: SW113C, 60 pp, 472 yen (book cover?)
Float: SW18C, 80 pp, 525 yen (cardboard cover)
CD: SuPuCD25S, 50 pp, 262 yen (card stock cover)
Twin Ring: SuPu-203B, 40 pp, 241 yen (card stock cover)
Muji Color: SW40B, 30 pp, 200 yen (card stock cover)

Sydney Kinokuniya is now stocking more and more Campus notebooks. I got one Campus Top Grade (i guess that's what they call) with MIO paper (they have all different sizes and line width). It does look and feel great. There is a special sticker on the cover trying to say how nice MIO paper is (sorry, I dont read Japanese). Haven't tested yet, as don't have many things to write now.

Can help if you guys are having trouble finding Campus notebooks in you region.

It is so great that I found this forum. I almost felt insane about paying weekly visits to Kinokuniya just to update myself on their new stocks of pens and notebooks. Unfortunately the only Japanese fountain pen the Sydney store carries at the moment is Ohto Tasche.

I also discovered that Kinokuniya is carrying a new line of Campus notebooks. It's called Campus on holiday. Basically you can insert photos, postcards, whatever you want into the page, and write something on the side while travelling. Maybe best illustrated with a photo.

Don't say that - you might find yourself shipping a ton of paper to Queensland.

I don't mind helping you get a few samples or even a dozen. but a ton of paper............i still cannot figure out nowadays do ppl really have that much stuff to write on notebooks?

I only use one Japanese schedule book for each year and just got a three-year diary from Japan to keep my work notes, so when I do the end-year self-assessment, I wouldn't have blank page.