Visiting Tokyo Next Week

[mori45]

I'll be visiting friends in Tokyo next week and although I plan to make stops at the well known pen shops and department stores, I was wondering if there was anything special I should be aware of. My list of stops will likely include:

 

Euro-box

Maruzen

Tokyu Hands

Ameyoko

Mitsukoshi

Itoya

 

If there's anything seasonal or on limited run I should think about or an obvious omission on my list, please let me know. My budget is flexible, but likely in the 300-400 range.

[swanjun]

It's not a pen, but Iroshizuku *did* make some limited-edition inks for Itoya. I'm not sure if they'd still have any left, but the colors were Edo-Murasaki, Fukagawa-Nezu, and Shimbashi-Iro.

[Samovar]

You can easily visit Nihombashi Maruzen, Eurobox and Itoya in an afternoon. They aren't that far from each other. If you walk, you can also stop at the Pilot Museum which is pretty much between Maruzen and Itoya.

 

 

Enjoy Tokyo

[Pen2009]

Those stores usually sell pens at the full retail price, which I will never pay as my principle. However, I will test out the pens there if I have a chance and go buy it online.

[sunnerd]

Check with Eurobox first about their opening hours. They are only open 3 or 4 afternoons per week I think.

[Ashram]

If you are in the market for a Japanese pen, I recommend Sekaido in Shinjuku (no affiliation). They sell everything in store for 20% off retail which made for some of the best prices I found in Japan. They had most of Pilot and Sailor's current offerings along with a decent selection of inks. The head office has a better selection than their other location closer to Shinjuku station. It can be found here: http://www.sekaido.co.jp/shop_honten.html .

Edited February 21, 2012 by Ashram

[tenney]

You can easily visit Nihombashi Maruzen, Eurobox and Itoya in an afternoon.

I can easily spend a couple of hours at Itoya (and even more time at Tokyu Hands!) so it might be a long afternoon.

 

Those stores usually sell pens at the full retail price, which I will never pay as my principle. However, I will test out the pens there if I have a chance and go buy it online.

Then where do you shop for pens? Sekaido? (I've never been there.)

[Pen2009]

Then where do you shop for pens? Sekaido? (I've never been there.)

I only buy online. If the price is good, I buy new pens from reputable dealers on eBay or the US or EU based reputable dealers (I don't have to pay 5% sales tax). Also, there are some good online dealers in Japan who can offer good price (I have to pay 5% sales tax).

[Shashinjitsu]

This is useful. I'll be in Tokyo in April. I've been there a number of times but I never shopped for pens. This time I definitely want to check out some of the shops.

[mori45]

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. I did pretty thorough rounds of the shops and this is what I found. Please note that the comments below are purely my opinions based on my experience and nothing more.

 

Euro-Box:

 

Euro-box is open Thursday through Sunday, so it may not be easy for some to make it during opening hours. I went on a Thursday afternoon and chatted with Mr. Fujii for a bit and oogled his stock of vintage pens, including an original MYU. He mostly has American and European pens, but some of the vintage or special edition Pilots and Sailors do come up on his website from time to time.

 

Sekaido:

 

Definitely a worthwhile place to stop in, particularly for ink. Iroshizuku with the 20% discount comes to about 1200 yen a bottle, or about 300-375 yen cheaper than other shops. Regrettably, I didn't realize this until I'd already bought some elsewhere, but let future travelers take note. They also carry Sailor ink and had the limited edition spring colors out, also at 20% less than retail.

 

Their pen selection was ok, but not extensive. If you're looking for a standard nib (EF-MS) you might find it, but special nibs like cross points, etc. are by order which takes about a month or so, and I was told they do not ship overseas.

 

They also have an extensive selection of paper and other art supplies, so it is a good place to go after you've browsed Itoya.

 

Tax free shopping is not an option, but with the discount it really doesn't matter.

 

Itoya:

 

Everything from Aurora to Sailor, including a lot of Maki-e pens. Everything is full price, but their selection is outstanding. Tax free if you spend more than 10,500 yen. They also have a lot of paper, so you could spend a significant amount of time wandering the store.

 

Maruzen:

 

Selection is good, but not as expansive as Itoya. They have a couple of their own pens and a line of inks branded as "Athena". At several hundred yen per bottle more than Iroshizuku, Athena ink is not cheap, but they look quite good on paper. Again, no tax free option here.

 

Tokyu Hands:

 

Tokyu Hands is a great browsing store in general, but their stationary is hit or miss. The Shibuya store had a pretty good selection of Sailors including a cross-point, cross music, cross concord and fude nib that you could try. Everything is full price, but you can get a tax break if you spend more than 10,500 yen. The ink seemed to be behind the counted, so I couldn't get a good look at all they had, but the usual inks (Pilot, Iroshizuku, Sailor) were all available.

 

The Shinjuku store (above Takashimaya) has a smaller selection than Shibuya, but the inks are on display and open to peruse. I found a couple older inks that I hadn't seen before, and was able to request that the boxes be opened so I could check them for growth, mold, etc.

 

Like other department stores, they have a tax free option.

 

Loft/Matsuya/Mitsukoshi

 

Department store stationary sections were usually ok at best--the pens were often European or American imports, and the selections quite limited. Given the better options available, I wouldn't bother too much with them unless something changes or you're trying to tip your other purchases over the tax free minimum.

Edited February 27, 2012 by mori45

[ajoe]

Ohashi-Do in Sendai?

 

The only way to buy one of his pens is in person.

[ethernautrix]

Pictures?

 

Of your trip in general, not necessarily the pens tour.

 

Hope you enjoyed your visit! (If you're still in Japan, hope you're still enjoying it!)

 

 

[tenney]

Ohashi-Do in Sendai?

It seems that's about a 2-3 train ride from Shibuya. Is that correct? Is it "near" the Fukushima disaster area (i.e. should that be of any concern if one wanted to try to visit Ohasi-Do san)?

 

In looking around on the web I also found Japan Fountain Pen Events Calendar all in Nihongo, but the English notes a link for Sailor events and another for Nakaya events. I certainly want to schedule my next trip to Tokyo to coincide, if possible, with one of the pen events "near" to Tokyo.

[rockydoggy]

Thanks for this great report. I'm planning to visit Beijing, Tokyo, and Kyoto this coming summer--I'll put your list to good use.

[ExcaliburZ]

Are there any good stores in the Taito-Asakusa area?

[Pen2009]

You could get better deals on Rakuten (and others) than brick and mortar stores in Japan.

Why do you buy pens at close to MSRP at a Japanese department store? I recommend window-shopping. I visited some of those stores (Maruzen and Itoya) in Tokyo; but, I was just surprised at the price they are selling many pens. I recall I saw some Palikans and Waterman models sold there at over $1000 where I was able to get less than half the price somehwere. I think buying inks at one of those stores woud make sense though.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Pen2009

[CAPT LOVE]

If you are in the market for a Japanese pen, I recommend Sekaido in Shinjuku (no affiliation). They sell everything in store for 20% off retail which made for some of the best prices I found in Japan. They had most of Pilot and Sailor's current offerings along with a decent selection of inks. The head office has a better selection than their other location closer to Shinjuku station. It can be found here: http://www.sekaido.co.jp/shop_honten.html .

 

+1 Sekaido

 

I just got two Pilot pens from Sekaido(a Custom Heritage 912, and a Custom Heritage 91), via a friend who visit Japan. Noted that most other retail stores like Itoya will not give you any discount but a small tax exemption. Sekaido on the other hand gives 20% discount on all items including all inks, which bring down the price to a slightly better than Engeica level(also a great place to shop online when you aren't in Japan.. no affiliation), which is a darn good deal. Sekaido's service is also excellent, what I did was, having a Japanese coworker(I live in Bangkok, Thailand) calling Sekaido HQ-store and make sure they have both pens/nib combo I want. They were very helpful and order those pens in immediately without hesitation, then the store clerk provide his name as reference to be use upon my friend's visit(Mr. Yamashita.. thank you ). In about a week, both of the pens I want arrive at Sekaido flagship store, in time for my friend who visit Japan to drop by and purchase them for me.. with 20% discount. Iroshizuku ink are being offered at 1,200 Yen.

 

I could not be happier..

[Pen2009]

Iroshizuku ink are being offered at 1,200 Yen.

That's a good price for a brick and mortar retailer. On Rakuten web store portal, the cheapest Iroshizuku is at around $1,100. Iroshizuki is sold in N. America and Europe at such a higher price range (more than double the prevailing online pricing in Japan).

Edited April 15, 2012 by Pen2009

[tenney]

Why do you buy pens at close to MSRP at a Japanese department store?

There are some pens at department stores (and Itoya) that you can't get elsewhere (e.g. special very limited edition pens). Also, sometimes the sales people there know much more than at the small places. e.g. the sales chap at Itoya Ginza was very knowledgeable about the Nobuyoshi Nagahara Commemorative LE pen telling me that it was injection molded resin (and, he was thrilled to tell me about being at the LA pen show and meeting John from nibs.com). But that pen was NOT available at any of the small shops. But sometimes those small shops have a special LE pen from a year or two ago at a good price too.

 

Although Itoya and department stores do offer a 5% tax rebate, the small places at Ameyoko ranged from 20-30%. But, for most pens, you can buy them online here in the US for the same or less -- if the store here has them available.

 

And, yes, Iroshizuki inks were Y1200, although no new ones that I found (newer than a month or two ago that you can get online here). I figured that I could easily get two back with me in my carryon. At that price it made sense.

[CAPT LOVE]

Iroshizuku ink are being offered at 1,200 Yen.

That's a good price for a brick and mortar retailer. On Rakuten web store portal, the cheapest Iroshizuku is at around $1,100. Iroshizuki is sold in N. America and Europe at such a higher price range (more than double the prevailing online pricing in Japan).

 

A couple points worth noted,

 

This topic is meant to be beneficial to someone who will be physically visiting Tokyo or Japan. Therefore I doubt your idea of going windowshop and buy online, when there are many notable "brick and mortar" stores that offer their products with exceptional service at a very reasonable discount rate (Sekaido in Tokyo, or Morita in Osaka.. none affiliated). And should you go window shop at Morita/Sekaido and buy online for that elusive 100 Yen additional discount on Iroshizuku per say, I doubt you would get a shipping rate less expensive than 100Y even within Japan herself.. or any significant savings justified such additional purchasing effort of try here and order buy there. And even so, call me old fashion, but you would also lost the peace of mind of being able to "try before buy"..(all for that less than 100Yen less shipment cost in Japan itself.. if you can even ship at such unbelivable rate) Also, while it is true that most Foreign pens are selling unresonably expensive in Japan through retailors.. but why would you buy a European pen in Japan in the first place?.. just my two cent :hmm1: