If You Could Only Visit 1 Fountain Pen Shop In Tokyo, Where To Go?

[Miso Soup]

Hi guys

 

Just wanted to get a bit of advice.

 

I'm going to be visiting Tokyo in about a month, and wanted to stock up on Sailor inks and also buy a fountain pen - brand still undecided!

 

I'm a bit short on time, so out of all the places I could visit, where is the one place I should go that will stock everything I want (and more) at a good price?

Edited September 24, 2014 by Miso Soup

[provis]

If you are after vintage pens, Eurobox at Tokyo is the place to be.

 

For modern pens, ink and other paraphernalia, I will STRONGLY recommend Pen Boutique Shosaikan at Aoyama. It's fantastic, big, and has over 1000 pens for sale. If you're a fan of Maki-e or other Japanese makes, this is the place to go.

 

Otherwise, most major bookchains like Maruzen or Kinokuniya also have very comprehensive pen counters.

[Cdub24]

Itoya is a good option but having just come back from toyko I'm a massive fan of kingdom note! Amazing store, plenty of pens and their own sailor inks. Super service and tax free shopping to boot!

[Algester]

Kingdom Note, Maruzen and Ito-ya... will be your place for modern pens vintage pens will be scattered through out the city Euro-box indeed is in tokyo but not sure how you get to Chou-ku... train? Tokyo is large and their subway system can get a bit... getting used to

[JLS1]

Kingdom Note, Maruzen and Ito-ya... will be your place for modern pens vintage pens will be scattered through out the city Euro-box indeed is in tokyo but not sure how you get to Chou-ku... train? Tokyo is large and their subway system can get a bit... getting used to

 

That's a good point...do you know where you are staying, Miso Soup? Might be easier for you to look for stores in your vicinity...

[Miso Soup]

I'll probably be staying around Shinjuku. I'm not too afraid of traversing the train system (I used to live in Osaka and am quite familiar with navigating the bewildering lines which criss cross the train map!)

 

It sounds like Kingdom Note and Itoya are getting good reviews? Would they be a one stop shop then?

[Algester]

I'll probably be staying around Shinjuku. I'm not too afraid of traversing the train system (I used to live in Osaka and am quite familiar with navigating the bewildering lines which criss cross the train map!)

 

It sounds like Kingdom Note and Itoya are getting good reviews? Would they be a one stop shop then?

yes Ito-ya and Kingdom Note will be your on stop shop then Shinjuku huh not far from Ginza I see

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=206509930180630429003.000485c7d6444bfd5f18d&dg=feature

may this help you pre dertermine your course of action

http://estilofilos.blogspot.jp/p/tokyo-pen-shops.html

Edited September 24, 2014 by Algester

[Cdub24]

kingdom note is in Shinjuku so could be close to where you are staying and itoya (Ginza) is only 4/5 train stops away as well

[Pen_Samurai]

Don't go to kingdom note it you can go to eurobox. Kingdom note gets like 90% of their stock from eurobox and most of the stuff they have is prices above retail. The only reason to go there is to get INK. If you are in shinjuku, check out seikaido. The prices are mostly 20% off of retail and they have a good selection of basic pens. If you know what you want both takashimaya and Itoya will be able to order it for you and both stores have locations in Shinjuku.

 

Itoya in ginza and tsutaya in daikanyama will have a large selection of pens on stock and if you're looking for something specific, they will be good places to search. If you don't see it on display Make sure to ask the people behind the counter if they have it in back stock. Nine times out of ten, those two stores will or will know where you can get what you want.

 

Ink on the other hand, Maruzen and Kingdom note are good places to check out in Tokyo.

[Tinjapan]

For ink, Kingdom Note has 15 of their own inks made by Sailor plus many other inks. Maruzen has 8 original inks also made by Sailor ( does anyone know for sure who makes their Sepia?) but I have not seen all 8 in any one of their stores recently. Their Nihombashi store also still has some of their limited edition Akane on the shelves.

 

Shosaikan Pen Boutique in Aoyama also has a lot of ink plus two of their own colors made by Sailor.

 

These three stores are the only ones in Tokyo I know of with their own Sailor inks.

 

Eurobox is only opened Weekends, Mondays and Thursdays but not everyone of these. For example, they are not open today. If you do go there and don't see what you are looking for, be sure to ask. He has many pens that are not on display.

 

Seikaido sells pens at a 20 % discount and they have two stores in Shinjuku, one is very close to Kingdom Note.

 

Personally, I am a very big fan of Kingdom Note. However, they haven't had as many pens on display these last few months as they once had. But they do still have a lot of pens and their inks.

 

Itoya and Maruzen have their own unique pens made by Japanese pen makers. You'll want to ask about these as the difference from regular production pens may only be in color, nib or inscription on the band.

 

 

[da vinci]

I have only been to Itoya, but that was an excellent experience.

 

 

Pen Boutique Shosaikan is not a pen shop I have heard mentioned in these threads about Tokyo before. Can Provis or some one give a bit more of a review and perhaps a pic or 2

[Pen_Samurai]

Eurobox has a very weird schedule. Do not trust any information from third parties. Go to their website and check the calander. That is the only sure fire way to see if they will be open. They sometimes take weird holidays.

[Algester]

how bout a video
I'm not sure about the inks but
http://i.imgur.com/h9LS7Jjl.jpg
PS: I'M REALLY NOT SURE ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE INKS
if you find yourself going to Shousaikan please head me up on this thread so I can update the list :X

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/272272-sailors-full-ink-lines-including-shop-exclusives-compiled-in-a-post/page-3

I'm not sure... if it's right for me to do this...

Edited September 25, 2014 by Algester

[Tinjapan]

I bought some of Shosaikan Pen Boutique's inks for a couple of ink minions ( will be mailing them tomorrow!) so they had their two original Sailor inks very recently. It is a very nice shop with with excellent coffee as well as selection and service. They also had some of the limited edition Pilot mini bottle sets of Iroshizuku inks still on the shelves a couple of weeks ago. They are a little tricky to get to, if you are looking to go, I will try to find a way to post the directions I used to find it for the first time.

 

Take Pen Samurai's advice on checking Eurobox's website for their schedule. No two months are the same. But stay away from his vintage Conklins! Theyz be mine!!

👺

Edited September 25, 2014 by Tinjapan

[Readymade]

If you're after current mass production inks and pens, go to Sekaido for the discounts.

 

If you're after vintage, check out Eurobox.

 

If you're after shop-exclusive inks, you should search online, read reviews etc and identify shops beforehand.

 

btw, Shosaikan's Seiran is an dark indigo. Nice flow. No shading even in broad nibs.

[Tinjapan]

Other points to consider. Even if Eurobox is open, you may not be able to get a pen you bring with serviced nor a pen you buy serviced that day. If Mr. Fuji is in, I have always been able to have him fix what ever I brought in, up to five nibs in one day. If you have several hours to spend and don't mind him taking care of other customers as he works on you pen/s, no problem, as long as he is there. The last pen he fixed for me had a nib that looked like a cork screw. He fixed it that day as we chatted. Took a while, 30 minutes or so but it writes smoothly now and it went home with me that day.

 

If he is not, then his employees can accept your pen and they will contact you when it is ready. The pen I brought in today to have the nib tines realigned won't be ready until after the new year. The pen I bought today won't be ready for a month. He gives priority to the pens he sells. I don't know if he ships overseas or not. And, he doesn't accept credit cards.

 

I am not sure of this, but my recollection is that I have had much better luck catching him in on Thursdays. He was not in today, Friday Tokyo time nor the Monday I stopped by a month or so ago. I have not tried on weekends.

 

Just more info.

 

👺

Edited October 3, 2014 by Tinjapan

[rudyhou]

after reading this thread, it is clear that it is impossible to visit just one pen shop when one is in tokyo.

[Tinjapan]

No not all especially if you only have time for one.

 

Being satisfied with visiting only one....well that is another matter.

 

 

[Algester]

after reading this thread, it is clear that it is impossible to visit just one pen shop when one is in tokyo.

if inks is what your after... your pretty much say... lost but pens wise Ito-ya should be fine...

[vam272]

Who is Tokyo would have a good selection of NAKAYA and of SAILOr?