The Japanese bookshop in Sydney, Kinokuniya, has increased their range of Apica. I can identify three main products - CD5, CD10W and CD11W, but they also carry others I am having trouble identifying. They are 1A4 ,SW 107 , SW81.82, SW105 (B,R,K), SW91, SW65(C,P,W)
SW112S,SW88(BN,YN), SDX128,SDX78, NY4K,NY19K.

If there are any Sydney locals who may be in town I would love an update as they are somewhat difficult to deal with on the phone - this info I managed to get by email. Would love to know prices and what the other codes are - I suspect they are what I call fancy covers on regular spirals but any advice apprecaited.

The address is Kinokuniya - shop 202, 500 George St and they are open 7 days.

This could be an exciting stpe for us Apica lovers who can now access some lines here.

I have been in there a couple of times, but I haven't noticed any significant numbers of Apica products there. They have some Campus notebooks, but not a very full range. The most complete range they have is of the Maruman Cut sheets in A5 & A4 in lined (6, 7 & 8 mm), graph ruled and blank. The blank packs come with a lined sheet to put under a sheet to guide your writing.

The problem is that the range on display changes every time I go there, and most of what they do have is pretty-pretty notebooks.

So far, I have only popped in when driving through the city and have been able to park in a Loading Zone, but that limits me to 15 minutes, as the Parking Rangers in Sydney are somewhat predatory.

PM me your phone number, and next time I go in, I can talk to you directly.

Regards,
David.

Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

That's good news.

I will try to wangle a trip to Sydney for some "pressing client business" in the next couple of weeks.

Two weeks ago I had a pretty good dig around at the Sydney store and, as reported by David, I colud only see Maruman (which I also find very FP friendly) and Campus.

Any finds will be promptly reported.

regards

Jim

Keep in mind I am only going on an email reply I received. Here is the text.


Thank you very much for your inqury.
Now we have 1A4 ,SW 107 , SW81.82, SW105 (B,R,K), SW91, SW65(C,P,W)
SW112S,SW88(BN,YN), SDX128,SDX78, NY4K,NY19K,
CD11W,CD10W,CD5,

Best regards,

PS Please send me e-mail

nbcsydney@iprimus.com.au
Kinokuniya stationery, NBC MARKETING
Saeri Hayashi

I asked for prices by email and have the following.

CD 5 - $ 1.40
CD10- $ 3.30
CD11- $ 2.80

Thank you for that Pete. Great work.

Do those prices look pretty good to you compared to what you have paid before?

They look very competitive. I paid US1.99 for CD5, US2.79 for CD10 and US2.99 for CD11.

Dropped in to Kinokuniya (Sydney) on my way home from work tonight and managed to scribble some notes about Apica notebooks while I was there. They have:

1. The CD series which most people on here seem to be familiar with, ranging from tiny pocket sized books to approx A4 size. Sizes are CD5, 10, 11, 15 and 30.

2. Some notebooks the same size as CD 15 and 30, but possibly a bit fatter. They're similar in that the page style and cloth binding are the same, but these have a recycled-looking cardboard cover and recycled-looking paper inside. The numbers I recorded for these were 6B4 (the smaller size) and 1B5.

3.GB1805 - a CD15 sized book with a blue cardboard cover and the title "English Penmanship". The paper has four narrow lines grouped together, the third line down is red. I imagine it's a similar concept to french (seyes) ruling.

4. GB25 - a CD15 sized book with the same paper as CD15 but with a plain orange cardboard cover.

5. SW65P - also CD15 sized with a spiral binding, same type of paper inside. Cover is cardboard with pink flowers and a cutesy love poem - probably marketed to a Hello Kitty type audience.

6. LM13 School Line - this is again the size of the CD15 book, with a blue cardboard cover and vertical lined paper inside. I haven't seen this before but imagine it would be used to write Japanese Kanji characters - someone correct me if I'm wrong.

3,4 and 6 are just standard exercise books. For me, the CD range was easily the stand out. I bought one of these but none of the others so I can't compare the paper.

I work nearby and tend to go to Kinokuniya fairly frequently, so if anyone has a burning desire to know more, let me know and I'll check next time I'm in.

Have also realised that the numbers I wrote down don't seem to match the ones you were given, not sure whether that's because I looked at the wrong code.

Thanks for the work Callida. I may order some by mail order.

Hi, Pete. Just dropped in to point out that Kinokuniya has received new stock. I had been gently hassling the section manager since January to re-stock the CD series, and she mentioned that someone [you?] had e-mailed her last week or so.

This is what I got:

• CD-5 $1.40
• CD10WN $3.30
• CD-11W $2.80
• CD-15WN $4.40
• CD-30W $8.10

They didn't have any CD20 in stock this time. However, I have convinced the manager of the CD series' indisputable superiority, and she has promised more frequent re-stocking.

If you need me to post anything out, PM me. I'll be happy to do so.

Cheers,

Jason

Thanks Jason - I have been emailing and calling from time to time. Great to see them increasing the CD range and I will definitely order as my stocks I bought from the US run down. The prices are very good too.

I'm not sure what the name extensions mean. Eg: CD-15WN. My book is just a CD-15 - what does the WN signify? As you have seen them can you check this link and confirm the books you have listed have the plainish cover like those on ebay?

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?f...&category0=

Many thanks.

Pete

Can't find the CD-30 on any web page - it is double the price and I am interested if you can remember what the book is?

Hi Pete,

The CD-30 is 210 x 297 mm (A4) and 80 pages (says 40 (sheets?) at the back). As for the WN designation, I'm not sure, but I may drop in later today.

All the books are with linen-coloured covers like this.

The extension doesn't matter. If they are all the linen finish they are perfect. Apica seems to have an amazing range and many are too pretty for my use - the plain covers are ideal. Was the CD30 spiral or tape bound?

Tape. Here's what I have

Fantastic - thanks.

I am a new devotee and love the books - are you a fan?

Of course! They're a bargain at this price, too. When I saw the replenished shelves, I went into a frenzy and grabbed CD stock at random. More than what I need for now, but indulgences are necessary, and I can think of worse ones.

Have they agreed to ship them to you?

My stocks are OK as I bought a heap from ebay just before Christmas. But they did say I could order by phone. I am interested in a top up order of a couple of sizes soon. If I have any hassles I may come back to you for assistance.

That's good to hear. Feel free to PM me if you need help